A federal judge now at the center of a growing immigration enforcement dispute is facing new scrutiny following revelations about his past ties to a left-wing organization that provides legal aid to illegal immigrants. Records obtained by Fox News show that Patrick J. Schiltz, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, was listed in 2019 as both a donor and volunteer for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, a group that openly challenges federal immigration enforcement.
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The disclosure comes as Schiltz has drawn national attention for a series of controversial rulings involving immigration protests and senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. According to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, Schiltz is currently threatening to hold ICE Director Todd Lyons in contempt of court and has ordered him to appear in federal court later this week. Immigration enforcement advocates have criticized the move as an unusually aggressive step against federal officials executing immigration law.
Schiltz has also been involved in decisions related to high-profile protest cases, including one involving former CNN anchor Don Lemon. Earlier this month, Schiltz declined to approve arrest warrants for Lemon and several other protesters accused of storming Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The protest targeted the church’s pastor, who also serves as an ICE field director.
Lemon, now an independent journalist, livestreamed the protest and interviewed participants, claiming his presence was for reporting purposes. However, federal prosecutors argued that Lemon and others crossed the line from reporting into active participation and sought criminal charges, alleging the protesters interfered with others’ civil rights. A federal magistrate judge initially declined to find probable cause for arrest warrants.
The Department of Justice appealed that decision internally, but Schiltz also declined to find probable cause, effectively blocking the arrests. A divided panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals later declined to intervene, resulting in a rare, multi-level rejection of the DOJ’s request. Schiltz acknowledged the unusual nature of the DOJ’s approach, calling it “unheard of” in his district and noting prosecutors could have pursued a grand jury instead.
Before joining the federal bench, Schiltz worked in private practice and helped establish the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota has made no effort to hide its mission, openly providing free legal representation to illegal immigrants and routinely challenging ICE operations in court—an association now drawing renewed attention as Schiltz continues to preside over immigration-related cases.[/read]