St. Paul, Minnesota - A federal judge in Minnesota recently found a lawyer representing President Donald Trump's administration in civil contempt of court as litigation over its immigration agenda heats up.

According to The New York Times, Judge Laura M. Provinzino issued a ruling claiming the administration failed to comply with her previous order to release detained immigrant Rigoberto Soto Jimenez and return any "identification documents" that belonged to him.

Judge Provinzino ordered attorney Matthew Isihara to pay a $500 daily fine for every day the belongings are not returned, beginning on Friday.

The incident comes as the Trump administration has deployed federal immigration agents to cities across the country to carry out deportation sweeps.

Thousands of undocumented individuals have been arrested and deported, many of whom have lived in the US for years, and have been going through proper channels to earn citizenship.

The Trump administration has faced criticism from multiple federal judges for refusing to follow court orders, but the Minnesota ruling is believed to be the first time a Trump administration attorney has been held in contempt since the start of the president's second term in office.

In a statement, Daniel Rosen – the US attorney for the District of Minnesota – described the judge's ruling as "a lawless abuse of judicial power."