Judge demands Ice chief to appear in court over handling of migrants

The judge threatened possible contempt proceedings against Mr Lyons over several accusations Ice failed to grant detained immigrants bond hearings that had been ordered by judges in Minneapolis.

It is the latest in potential showdown between the federal judiciary and White House officials, who have sought to paint judges who question their tactics as "liberal activists."

In his summons, Judge Schiltz said: "The court’s patience is at an end."

Judge Schiltz, an appointee of President George W Bush and a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, said: "The Court acknowledges that ordering the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step.

"But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed."

Over the weekend, Judge Schiltz penned an exasperated letter to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, questioning unusual moves by federal officials to charge demonstrators involved in a church protest in St Paul.

President Trump and Minnesota Democrat Governor Tim Walz struck a conciliatory note after a private phone call last night, in a sign the two sides want to defuse a crisis over the deportation drive that has left two US citizens dead in Minneapolis.

Following his phone call with Governor Walz, President Trump said he was "on a similar wavelength" with the governor, weeks after ordering some 3,000 US immigration agents to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area over the vehement opposition of state and local leaders.

Governor Walz's office said he and President Trump held a "productive call" in which the President said he would consider reducing the number of immigration agents in the state.

Trump and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey similarly reported making headway toward ending the impasse.

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, the President said "lots of progress" was being made following the phone conversation with the Democrat mayor.

American approval of President Trump's immigration policy fell to its lowest level since his return to the White House in a new Ipsos poll for Reuters.

A majority of Americans now believe President Trump's crackdown on immigration has gone too far.

Just 39 per cent of Americans approve of the job President Trump is doing on immigration, down from 41 per cent earlier this month, while 53 per cent disapprove, the poll found.

Some 58 per cent of poll respondents said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have gone "too far" in their crackdown, while 12 per cent said they had not gone far enough and 26 per cent said the agents' efforts were "about right."

About nine in 10 Democrats said the agents have gone too far, compared to two in 10 Republicans and six in 10 independents.