Testy exchanges over immigration cases highlight growing confrontations between judges and DOJ

By STEVE KARNOWSKI and TIM SULLIVAN

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A federal judge clashed Tuesday with Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor in what he called a series of “testy and frosty” exchanges, during an unusual contempt hearing that highlights a growing wave of confrontations across the U.S. between increasingly frustrated judges and Department of Justice officials.

U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen at one point accused the judge of smearing him.

There has been a surge in recent weeks of judges issuing critical and sometimes scathing statements and rulings over fallout from the administration’s attempts at mass immigrant deportations, with the Department of Justice sometimes appearing unable to keep up with the flood of cases from the crackdown.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan called Tuesday’s hearing to decide whether Rosen, one of his top deputies and a top local ICE official should be held in contempt for failing to return the personal property of dozens of immigrants who had been detained and then ordered freed, as they had been ordered. The property ranges from cash to identity documents to clothing.

“The court cannot ignore the respondents’ unlawful conduct,” Bryan said when he ordered the hearing, noting there had been “numerous unlawful violations of court or...