Left to right: Sen. Dick Durbin and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 3, 2026 (C-SPAN).
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem struggled to answer questions about repeat violations of court orders by immigration agents during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Noem testified for the first time since a series of homicides was committed by federal authorities in Minnesota during “Operation Metro Surge.”
During the hearing, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, pressed the witness on how federal district judges in the Land of 10,000 Lakes view the behavior of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents since the Trump administration ramped up deportation roundups last fall.
“Just last week, the Republican-appointed chief federal judge in Minnesota identified over 200 court orders that ICE officials had violated in the last two months,” Durbin said. “He wrote, quote, “The court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt again and again and again to force the U.S. government to comply with court orders.'”
Durbin was referencing and quoting Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, who last week threatened criminal contempt proceedings as ICE continues to ignore court orders in myriad habeas corpus cases brought by immigrants who have been illegally detained, Law&Crime previously reported.
But, the senator noted, Minnesota is not the only place where ICE agents are locking people up with impunity while flouting court orders.
“In a sworn declaration, the Trump Justice Department itself acknowledged that your agency has violated court orders more than 50 times in recent weeks in one state, New Jersey,” Durbin continued.
This time, the senator was referring to proceedings overseen by U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi, a Joe Biden appointee.
In that case, the court’s estimate pegs the Trump administration’s lawbreaking slightly higher: By Quraishi’s count, the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey has violated 72 court orders and “expressly admitted” violating 56 such orders, Law&Crime previously reported.
Those admissions came days after yet another federal judge in New Jersey criticized ICE for violating a no-transfer order and for “repeatedly” violating similar “judicial orders more than fifty (50) times in just the past sixty (60) days,” Law&Crime previously reported.
Durbin asked the witness plainly: “Secretary Noem, is DHS required to follow federal court orders?”
To which the secretary replied: “Yes, sir, and we do comply with federal court orders.”
The senator pressed the witness to reconcile her answer with the in-court admissions made by Department of Justice lawyers.
“How do you explain that your agency has repeatedly violated court orders as your own administration has admitted?” Durbin asked.
In response, Noem stumbled over her words — offering an answer that does not appear to comport with the country’s separation of powers framework.
“Sir, we follow court orders and when they apply and when the jurisdiction and decision is applicable to a federal agency like ours,” she said.
In the U.S., district court judges have broad jurisdictional reach over federal agencies unless a statute offers a direct exception to a court of appeals. No such exception exists for DHS or its constituent or subordinate agencies. Specific to the current controversy, district court judges have express authority to rule on petitions for writs of habeas corpus, according to a federal law on the books since 1948.
The ancient writ of habeas corpus, a legal concept dating back some 900-plus years, allows for legal arguments that someone is being illegally confined, detained or imprisoned. The writ is generally considered the bedrock of the American and British legal systems.
Noem’s answer seemingly disregarded both law and history.
Durbin then squinted his eyes at the witness and gave the appearance of either not understanding or being taken aback.
“I’m sorry, would you clarify what you ended that with?” the senator asked.
Noem then shifted her response. This time, the secretary left out her earlier efforts to caveat and equivocate about whether courts have jurisdiction over her agents and the applicability of court orders.
“We follow court orders when they are given to us,” Noem said. “Federal court orders we follow. Absolutely.”
Durbin remained askance.
“So these judges are wrong?” the senator asked.
Finally, Noem settled on trying to avoid the question.
“No, I’m not saying that they’re wrong and I can’t speak specifically to that statement that was given,” she said.
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
