The Trump administration announced on Tuesday, August 4th, 2026, that it paid a $3,500 fine after a federal judge found Homeland Security in contempt of court for failing to produce documents sought in a lawsuit concerning immigration enforcement in Los Angeles.
Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, a Biden appointee, issued the contempt ruling last week in a sealed order. She imposed a daily fine of $500 on the government until the requested information is provided.
The case centers on personal phone records from government officials detailing how immigration officers selected enforcement targets during last year’s deportation surge in Los Angeles. Despite a magistrate judge’s order requiring the government to collect these records during discovery, Judge Frimpong concluded that the government “did not properly search for this material.”
“Congress has given this court the power to impose a fine on any party who does not comply with a clear order of this court. This court uses that power now and finds the government in contempt,” Judge Frimpong wrote.
She added that fines will continue to accumulate until the government certifies it has turned over the material to the plaintiffs.
In May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that it surveyed nearly 1,500 agents involved in the Los Angeles surge, with 885 agents acknowledging they used personal phones for work. Judge Frimpong noted this did not explain why the effort to collect records had not started, nor why the government could not estimate how long it would take to complete the necessary data imaging.
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