More frustrated prosecutors at the U.S Attorney’s office in Minnesota call it quits

07/02/2026 RhinoEasy

Turmoil continues at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minneapolis. This week another attorney was removed from a special assignment dealing with immigration cases after telling a judge she hates her job.

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Turmoil continues at the U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis. Eight more staff members are quitting. That’s on top of the half dozen who resigned in January. The exodus started after an immigration officer killed Renee Macklin Good. Now government lawyers are facing a deluge of petitions from migrants alleging they’ve been illegally detained. Reporter Matt Sepic of Minnesota Public Radio is here to explain. Hi there.

MATT SEPIC, BYLINE: Hi.

SUMMERS: Matt, this U.S. attorney’s office had around five dozen civil and criminal lawyers in early 2025. Why have so many quit?

SEPIC: Many began trickling out at the start of the second Trump administration, but the latest wave of resignation stems from the Justice Department’s response to the January 7 killing of Renee Macklin Good by ICE Agent Jonathan Ross here in Minneapolis. Administration officials have claimed the agent fired in self-defense. Witness video contradicts that. DOJ not only refused to let state police help investigate, they also pressured federal prosecutors here to investigate Good’s widow. That’s according to a Justice Department source I spoke with last month who requested anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak to the media. Six assistant U.S. attorneys resigned, including one who retired. Now, eight more staffers are leaving, including civil division lawyers. Those are the attorneys who are dealing with hundreds of lawsuits from migrants who allege that ICE illegally jailed them.

SUMMERS: And one of those lawyers, I understand, had strong words about the difficulties of her job in court. Tell us what that was about.

SEPIC: Judge Jerry Blackwell ordered then-special assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Le and one of her colleagues to explain why the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are repeatedly missing deadlines to release people from detention. Le said she’s been working around the clock to get DHS and ICE officials to comply. Then she told Blackwell, quote, “the system sucks. This job sucks. I wish you would hold me in contempt so I would have a full 24 hours’ sleep.”

University of St. Thomas law professor Mark Osler says it’s remarkable to hear that type of comment from a government lawyer.

MARK OSLER: This attorney was dealing with something that sometimes lawyers do, which is a bad client, a client who doesn’t communicate well. And then you’re the one in the well of the court getting yelled at.

SUMMERS: Matt, is the judge holding the attorneys personally responsible for the federal government’s inaction?

SEPIC: No. Judge Blackwell said he simply wants the agencies to uphold the rights of people who’ve been, quote, “put in shackles for days, if not a week-plus, after they’ve been ordered released.” NPR confirmed that Le is no longer on special assignment with the U.S. attorney’s office here in Minnesota. Ana Voss, the other lawyer who appeared in court alongside her, is among the latest to resign. In a statement, DHS says the administration is, quote, “more than prepared to handle the legal caseload to deliver President Trump’s deportation agenda.”

SUMMERS: Given this exodus, what’s happening with the fraud cases in Minnesota that the administration has said are a priority?

SEPIC: Well, those became public in 2022, and prosecutors would eventually charge 78 people with stealing $300 million from taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs. This happened during the pandemic in the infamous Feeding Our Future case. Most of the defendants have been convicted, and this investigation expanded into Medicaid fraud and led to charges against even more people. Now, all of the prosecutors in those fraud cases are gone. The Justice Department brought in reinforcements from other states and even the military, but Mark Osler, the law professor here, says even if they have experience, the new lawyers do not have intimate knowledge of the cases. Osler says the fraud team was juggling a lot of balls, and all of those are now on the ground.

SUMMERS: Matt Sepic of Minnesota Public Radio. Thanks so much.

SEPIC: You’re welcome.

Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Source: RhinoEasy News