A federal judge at the center of an escalating immigration enforcement battle is under new scrutiny after records revealed past ties to a left-wing organization that provides legal assistance to illegal immigrants.
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, according to records obtained by Fox News. The organization openly provides free legal representation and advocacy for illegal immigrants and regularly challenges federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The revelation comes as Schiltz has drawn national attention for a series of high-profile decisions involving immigration protests, Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership, and former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
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, according to Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin. The move has been criticized by immigration enforcement advocates as an aggressive judicial escalation against federal officials carrying out immigration law.
NEW: @FoxNews has learned that Patrick J. Schiltz, the Minnesota federal judge who is threatening to hold ICE Director Todd Lyons in contempt of court & is ordering him to appear in court on Friday, appears in a 2019 list of donors & volunteers for the Immigrant Law Center of… pic.twitter.com/yBzst713Pf
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 27, 2026
Schiltz is the same judge who declined to approve arrest warrants for Lemon and several other protesters accused of storming Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month.
Lemon, the former CNN anchor now working as an independent journalist, was on the scene live-streaming and reporting on the protest for his own platform. He moved in and out of the church, interviewed both protesters and churchgoers, and portrayed his presence as news coverage.
While Lemon documented the event, he also participated in a protest targeting the church’s pastor over his role as an ICE field director. The Department of Justice sought federal criminal charges, arguing the protesters interfered with others’ civil rights. A federal magistrate judge, however, initially declined to find probable cause to issue arrest warrants.
The DOJ appealed that decision internally. Schiltz also declined to find probable cause, effectively blocking arrest warrants for Lemon and the other protesters. According to Bill Melugin, a divided Eighth Circuit appeals panel later declined to intervene as well, marking a rare, multi-level rejection of the DOJ’s effort.
Schiltz himself acknowledged the DOJ’s request was highly irregular, describing it as “unheard of” in his district. He noted that prosecutors had other options available, including presenting evidence to a grand jury, rather than seeking emergency judicial intervention.
Per sources familiar, Judge Schiltz also declined probable cause on arrest warrants for Don Lemon and a handful of other protesters who stormed a church in Minnesota. He declined after federal magistrate Douglas Micko declined. 2/3 on appeals court also then declined.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 27, 2026
As a result, no arrest warrants or formal charges were issued, though the Justice Department has said it could still pursue the case through other legal avenues, including a grand jury indictment, keeping the matter legally and politically contentious.
Before joining the bench, Schiltz worked in private practice and played a key role in establishing the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota.
The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota does not conceal its mission. The group openly provides free legal aid to illegal immigrants and frequently challenges ICE operations in court.
