Judicial setback for DHS: Federal judge finds agency in contempt and orders $500-a-day fines

Federal District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong held the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in contempt on Wednesday after concluding that the agency failed to comply in a timely manner with a court order requiring it to hand over digital copies of communications stored on the cell phones of more than 800 immigration agents. According to a ruling unsealed on Tuesday, Frimpong imposed a fine of $500 per day on the federal government until it complies with the order to turn over the phones as part of the discovery process and reimburses the plaintiffs' attorneys for the legal expenses incurred in obtaining those records.

During a hearing held in June, DHS informed the court that it was processing only three phones every two weeks to create digital images, and several experts explained that, at that rate, reviewing all the requested devices would take nearly four years. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has accused some agents of using racial slurs during their interactions with people during the raids, argued that DHS "simply proceeded to obstruct" Frimpong's order "by deliberately delaying the imaging of government-issued cell phones and by openly defying the order with regard to personal phones."

DHS had previously argued, in December, that immigration agents do not use their personal phones for work-related communications. However, subsequent testimony from five witnesses contradicted that claim.

In April, the department also contended that it lacked authority over agents' personal devices, an argument that a magistrate judge rejected in July, according to NOTUS. In his July 28 ruling, Frimpong wrote that DHS had already been given "more than enough time" to comply with the order before concluding that the agency was in contempt.