Legal experts taken aback as judge catches ICE lawyers citing non-existent cases

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel issued a scathing 69-page preliminary injunction against ICE's detention practices at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minnesota, ordering restoration of detainees' access to attorneys, phone calls, and legal materials.

Brasel severely criticized ICE's legal team for submitting a brief containing fabricated case citations.

The government cited Planned Parenthood v. Rounds twice for propositions about mandatory injunctions that do not appear in that case or any Eighth Circuit decision. The judge wrote that the case "cannot possibly stand for such a proposition."

The ruling found ICE's sole witness testimony "inconsistent at best and incredible at worst," and determined the agency violated detainees' Fifth Amendment rights by blocking attorney access during Operation Metro Surge.

Legal experts expressed shock, with immigration advocates suggesting the DOJ brief appeared AI-generated and containing multiple miscited cases, formatting errors, and inconsistent citations throughout the document.

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