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A government attorney has been removed from her position at the Justice Department following candid remarks during a court hearing. The comments were made in connection to the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
Julie Le, who had been temporarily assigned to the Justice Department, saw her detail terminated by the U.S. attorney in Minnesota following her statements in court this past Tuesday, the source confirmed. Prior to this assignment, Le worked with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The individual providing this information requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of personnel issues.
During the Tuesday hearing in St. Paul, Minnesota, which involved several immigration-related cases, Le expressed to U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell her wish that he might hold her in contempt, humorously suggesting it would allow her a much-needed rest of “24 hours of sleep.”
Le candidly remarked, “What do you want me to do? The system is flawed. This job is exhausting. I’m doing everything within my power to meet your needs,” according to the court transcript.
Her striking comments highlight the immense pressure on the federal court system since President Donald Trump re-assumed office, with a pledge to aggressively pursue widespread deportations. ICE officials have noted that the operation in Minnesota represents their largest immigration enforcement action since the campaign kicked into high gear at the beginning of January.
Several prosecutors have left the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota amid frustration with the immigration enforcement surge and the Justice Department’s response to fatal shootings of two civilians by federal agents. Le was assigned at least 88 cases in less than a month, according to online court records.
Blackwell told Le that the volume of cases isn’t an excuse for disregarding court orders. He expressed concern that people arrested in immigration enforcement operations are routinely jailed for days after judges have ordered their release from custody.
“And I hear the concerns about all the energy that this is causing the DOJ to expend, but, with respect, some of it is of your own making by not complying with orders,” the judge told Le.
Le said she was working for the Department of Homeland Security as an ICE attorney in immigration court before she “stupidly” volunteered to work the detail in Minnesota. Le told the judge that she wasn’t properly trained for the assignment. She said she wanted to resign from the job but couldn’t get a replacement.
“Fixing a system, a broken system, I don’t have a magic button to do it. I don’t have the power or the voice to do it,” she said.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Le was a probationary attorney.
“This conduct is unprofessional and unbecoming of an ICE attorney in abandoning her obligation to act with commitment, dedication, and zeal to the interests of the United States Government,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
Le and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Kira Kelley, an attorney who represented two petitioners at the hearing, said the flood of immigration petitions is necessary because “so many people being detained without any semblance of a lawful basis.”
“And there’s no indication here that any new systems or bolded e-mails or any instructions to ICE are going to fix any of this,” she added.