Judge fed up with uncooperative ICE sanctions AsAm government lawyer

Asian American members of Congress added their voices against ICE treatment of detainees.

In a rare and stinging rebuke from the bench, Chief US District Judge Troy L. Nunley has officially run out of patience with the Department of Justice.

On April 14, Nunley slapped DOJ attorney Jonathan Yu with a $250 sanction—a move legal experts call a "shout from the rooftops" in the normally buttoned-up world of federal litigation. The reason? A repeated and "flagrant disregard" for court orders in the case of Eblis Alexander Yanez Tovar, an immigrant who found himself caught in the gears of a broken system.

The judge's sanction against Yu is an example of a system in crisis, where routine check-ins are leading to detention for long-term US residents, including an Afghan man who worked for the US in Afghanistan and a Cambodian grandmother who fled the Khmer Rouge and who has been in the US since 1981.

'Judicial emergency'

These cases, part of a "judicial emergency" with 2,700 habeas petitions filed since January, underscore a broader trend of detention, even after court orders for release. 

The drama unfolded in the Eastern District of California, where Tovar was fighting for his freedom from a Bakersfield detention center. While the court eventually ordered his release, the government apparently didn't think the follow-up paperwork was a priority.

The Sacramento-based Yu missed two critical deadlines: first, failing to certify that Tovar had actually been set free, and second, failing to update the court on why Tovar was released without his passport or driver’s license. Imagine being dumped in a city where you don't live, with no ID and no way to prove who you are—essentially a walking target for re-arrest. That was Tovar’s reality while the DOJ stayed silent.

The DOJ tried to play the "we’re overwhelmed" card. Yu claimed he was drowning under a mountain of 300 immigration cases assigned in just three months. US Attorney Eric Grant even stepped in, begging the judge to fine the office instead of the man, arguing that the failure was systemic.

Judge Nunley wasn't buying it.

In a sharp-tongued ruling, Nunley made it clear that a heavy workload is no excuse for ignoring a federal judge. He characterized the missed deadlines not as a mistake, but as a "pattern of disregard." For Nunley, this wasn't just about a $250 fine; it was about the "fundamental obligation" of government lawyers to respect the rule of law, regardless of how busy their calendars are.

View from the edge

As of early 2026, over 7,200 Asian immigrants were detained by ICE, with arrests of Asian immigrants roughly quadrupling under the second Trump administration compared to previous periods, according to Stop AAPI Haate. The majority of detainees come from China, India, Vietnam, Laos, and South Korea, often targeting those without criminal records.

Nunley is not alone in fed up with Trump's ICE and DOJ. Across the US, federal judges have expressed growing frustration with ICE over what they describe as a pattern of defying court orders and violating due process. This tension has escalated into a rare public showdown between the judicial and executive branches.

In Minnesota, Chief US District Judge Patrick Schiltz documented at least 96 separate court order violations by ICE in January 2026 alone.

Judges have accused the agency of "willfully misrepresenting facts" and moving detainees to different states without warning to disrupt legal proceedings—a practice some call "forum shopping."

This clash is a symptom of a much larger fever. Nunley has already declared a "judicial emergency" in the district due to a massive surge in immigration filings. While the DOJ is feeling the heat, the bench is clearly signaling that they won't let administrative chaos become a license for legal negligence.

For Jonathan Yu, the fine might be small change, but the stain on his professional record is a permanent reminder: in Judge Nunley’s courtroom, the government doesn't get a pass.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.