ICE chief counsel in Minnesota retires amid growing number of immigration cases

By Kit Maher, Aleena Fayaz, CNN

(CNN) — The top lawyer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota has left the agency, the same week an ICE attorney was removed after telling a district judge that “this job sucks” and that the Trump administration is “overwhelmed” with immigration cases.

Chief Counsel Jim Stolley retired after 31 years of service, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN. McLaughlin said Stolley’s retirement was scheduled to occur but did not provide additional details.

Stolley said in an automatic email response, “I have retired from public service,” and directed inquiries to the duty attorney. CNN also reached out to Stolley by phone but has not heard back.

The New York Times was first to report on Stolley leaving his post.

Minnesota courts have been inundated with immigration cases since the Trump administration began surging immigration enforcement to the state in December.

Earlier this week, ICE attorney Julie Le, who was detailed to Minnesota to help handle the immigration operation, was removed from her post after telling a judge that the job “sucks” because of the crushing workload and the government’s apparent inability to comply with court orders.

In an extraordinarily candid exchange with a federal judge on Tuesday, Le, who had been asked to explain why the administration was not promptly complying with a slew of court orders stemming from immigration cases she’s handling, admitted that the government did not have enough lawyers on the ground to keep up and that trying to get errors fixed is like “pulling teeth.”

Le’s comments – before Stolley’s resignation – offered a candid look at the immigration operation in Minnesota, which the Trump administration announced Wednesday would be reduced, including a withdrawal of 700 federal law enforcement personnel from the state “effective immediately.”

President Donald Trump similarly signaled less aggressive tactics in the immigration enforcement blitz, telling NBC News on the same day as the drawdown announcement, “Maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough.”

Last month, two US citizens were shot by federal law enforcement agents in Minnesota, sparking extensive protests. The Trump administration’s crackdown in Minnesota has also faced pushback from state and local officials, who failed to convince a federal judge in Minneapolis to temporarily block the operation.

CNN’s Devan Cole, Tierney Sneed, Hannah Rabinowitz and Hanna Park contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.