Government lawyer yanked from immigration detail in Minnesota after telling judge ‘this job sucks’

AP ^ | 02/04/2026 | MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

[DFG]

A government lawyer who told a judge that her job “sucks” during a court hearing stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota has been removed from her Justice Department post, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Julie Le had been working for the Justice Department on a detail, but the U.S. attorney in Minnesota ended her assignment after her comments in court on Tuesday, the person said. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. She had been working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before the temporary assignment.

At a hearing Tuesday in St. Paul, Minnesota, for several immigration cases, Le told U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell that she wishes he could hold her in contempt of court “so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep.”

“What do you want me to do? The system sucks. This job sucks. And I am trying every breath that I have so that I can get you what you need,” Le said, according to a transcript.

Le’s extraordinary remarks reflect the intense strain that has been placed on the federal court system since President Donald Trump returned to the White House a year ago with a promise to carry out mass deportations. ICE officials have said the surge in Minnesota has become its largest-ever immigration operation since ramping up in early January.

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TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: dhslawyer; immigration; jerryblackwell; juliele

[DFG]

"Take this job and shove it" - Johnny Paycheck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYrBm_sp5mo

[Recompennation]

She may git a job at one of their somalis
Learing centers

[BobL]

I didn’t realize we still had SLAVERY in this country (otherwise Julie could hang a shingle, assuming she’s even legal here).

[Governor Dinwiddie]

"Julie Le had been working for the Justice Department"

Miss Le should be working as a Tiki bar cocktail waitress.

[bk1000]

Sorry AP, this is what we voted for. Your tears nourish me.

[ncalburt]

The CCP is not happy and will demand her return .

[Freee-dame]

This woman is probably an example of DEI hired anti-conservatives at DOJ
Now that there aren’t a huge number of lawyers at the DOJ pouring through millions of videos and emails, etc., concerning Epstein, they’ll be more of them to go to court about other things. That whole Epstein thing was a total waste of manpower.

[dfwgator]

[Made In The USA]

If we need more lawyers to prosecute or pass judgment on illegal alien cases, , start hiring right now. The ROI is there, we save on social services, crime enforcement, etc.

[joshua c]

love it when they out themselves

[jagusafr]

I’ve worked closely with dozens of federal government lawyers. Some of them are just lazy, but most of them sincerely want to do good. They are placed in jobs under people who failed upwards and many of them despair of ever being able to make a difference. I don’t blame this lady one bit. She said what probably a third of government lawyers think.

[Socon-Econ]

Time to hire contract DOJ lawyers from Republican states.

[quilterdebbie]

I love good news in the morning!

[hal ogen]

If she can’t do her job she should quit...or get fired. Typical government employee...not a government “worker”.

[Texas Eagle]

The Ape Pee. A person familiar with the situation. Unnamed sources. I call bullshit.

[Getready]

I would guess that many of the departments low level lawyers have failed upward also.
We should notice that we are extrapolating the outcome of a person’s whole life view based on one comment made by the person.
She should resign if she cannot do what she was hired for. Or, her annual review should come with probation. If she doesn’t get her slam dunk convictions she gets fired.