An attorney for the federal government expressed frustration at her job during an immigration hearing Tuesday in Minneapolis, where the Trump administration is carrying out a sweeping immigration enforcement operation.
“The system sucks. This job sucks. I wish you could hold me in contempt so that I could get 24 hours of sleep,” said Julie Le, an attorney representing the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota, Lou Raguse of NBC affiliate KARE reported.
Raguse, who was in the courtroom, reported that Le said it was like “pulling teeth” to get the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Justice Department to follow court orders.
DHS, which oversees ICE, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Le could not be reached for comment.
She made the remarks after U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell asked the government to explain why it had not followed court orders in immigration proceedings, including not releasing several immigrant detainees he had ordered be let out, according to the court docket.
Le told Blackwell that “it takes 10 emails from me for a release condition to be corrected. It takes me threatening to walk out for something else to be corrected,” KARE reported.
Le, who is listed as a DHS attorney in the Minnesota Judicial Branch database, also said she did not feel properly trained for the role she is trying to fill, KARE reported.
Le has been assigned 88 cases in one month, according to a court docket.
Multiple lawyers at the U.S. attorney’s office have departed over ethical concerns in recent weeks, people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Trump administration officials have been trying to surge resources into the district to fill the gaps.
Ana H. Voss, Le’s co-counsel in Minneapolis, is among those who have given their notices of resignation, according to a person familiar with the matter. Voss did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday morning.
Le’s remarks Tuesday come amid “Operation Metro Surge,” a sweeping immigration crackdown in Minnesota that has led to thousands of arrests since December. The enforcement operation in turn has led to mass protests in the city, where U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot by federal officers.
Their killings and the response by some members of the Trump administration drew widespread condemnation, in addition to many Republicans calling for an independent investigation into Pretti’s death. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that body cameras would go to immigration agents in Minneapolis.
