A federal judge presiding over an immigration case sees no issue with the fact that he’s married to the prosecutor suing the Trump administration over a high-profile enforcement surge in Minneapolis.
Judge Jeffrey Bryan, appointed to the bench in Minnesota by the Biden administration in 2023, is refusing to recuse himself from an ongoing habeas case involving immigration enforcement, according to court documents. The Department of Justice (DOJ) had requested Bryan walk away from the case, questioning his impartiality given his marriage to Minnesota Solicitor General Liz Kramer, who is leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.
“Judge Bryan did not disclose his marriage relationship to that lead counsel, the Solicitor General of Minnesota, Liz Kramer, to the parties in this case,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen stated in court documents filed earlier in March. Rosen argued that similar legal issues are at play in both Kramer’s lawsuit and the immigration case Bryan is overseeing.
“Kramer’s role in advancing the state’s litigation position, which clearly aligns with the claims asserted by the Petitioner here; and the fact Respondents in these habeas cases reject the assertions that Solicitor General Kramer has made, the Court must consider whether the public might reasonably question Judge Bryan’s impartiality,” the U.S. attorney stated.
Daniel Rosen. Fox 9 Youtube screen grab.
Bryan, who has been serving on the bench since 2023, shot down the idea of walking away. The Biden-appointed judge framed Rosen’s argument as unpersuasive and claimed his marriage to Kramer was already public knowledge.
“In the motion, Respondents’ counsel lists facts in this case that are characterized as similar to those included in the complaint in State of Minnesota v. Noem, et al,” Bryan stated in court documents. “However, all of the cited facts are general background facts regarding Operation Metro Surge that have not been disputed by Respondents in any of the roughly 1,000 habeas cases filed in this District, or in any of the nearly 100 habeas cases assigned to the undersigned, since December 1, 2025.”
The fight over whether Bryan can remain on the case is not yet over. Federal prosecutors will be appealing the denial, the DOJ confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat who has positioned himself as a major opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda, appointed Kramer as Minnesota’s solicitor general in February 2019. Kramer currently serves as lead prosecutor in State of Minnesota v. Noem, a lawsuit Ellison launched in January to stop a controversial immigration enforcement operation across Minneapolis.
“The unlawful deployment of thousands of armed, masked, and poorly trained federal agents is hurting Minnesota,” Ellison stated when publicly filing the lawsuit. “This federal invasion of the Twin Cities has to stop, so today I am suing DHS to bring it to an end.”
A spokesperson for Ellison’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
Operation Metro Surge, a joint Immigration and Customs Enforcement and and Customs and Border Protection operation that began in early January, successfully arrested several thousand illegal migrant criminals throughout Minnesota, many of them carrying serious criminal records. However, the mission attracted immense public backlash after the deaths of two American citizens, leading to senior CBP chief Greg Bovino’s retirement and President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
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