LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge has ordered Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to appear in court on Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with multiple judicial orders.

In a Jan. 26 order, Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota wrote that the court's "patience is at an end" after ICE repeatedly failed to comply with "dozens of court orders" in recent weeks and the agency's noncompliance had caused "significant hardship" for immigrants.

In the court document, Schiltz said the extraordinary step of summoning the acting ICE director was necessary because lesser measures had failed.

The order reflects escalating tensions between federal immigration enforcement and the judiciary amid legal challenges to ICE practices. ■