District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong held the Department of Homeland Security in contempt Tuesday, citing the agency's failure to hand over digital copies of communications from personal cellphones used by more than 800 immigration agents during operations in the Los Angeles area.
The contempt order, unsealed Tuesday, stems from DHS's delay in complying with an earlier court directive demanding those records. The communications are central to an ongoing legal challenge over the Los Angeles immigration sweeps.
Frimpong, appointed by former President Biden, ordered DHS to accelerate its compliance with the original disclosure demand. Failure to do so could result in further sanctions.
The demand for data from more than 800 agents' personal devices signals the breadth of the court's inquiry into how those operations were conducted. DHS must now demonstrate immediate steps toward full compliance.
