West Virginia Judge Orders ICE Field Office Director to Appear After Government Says Appropriations Lapse Prevents Paying for Lost Detainee Property; Case Later Dropped From Docket

Outcome of the proceeding the Gonzalez v. DHS complaint cites (Serna Zarate/Zareta v. Mason, 2:26-cv-00069; the 2026-02-18 show-cause order set a 02-23 hearing). The docket shows the hearing was reset to 2026-02-26 (Doc. 50), then continued to 2026-03-05 with an in-person ICE representative ordered (Doc. 53), and was held 2026-03-05 (Doc. 54). At it the parties said they could settle without sanctions; Judge Johnston gave them two weeks. On 2026-03-20 (order date) the court recorded that respondents had not followed through and, at a 03-19 status conference, said they could not pay for lost property because of the lapse in appropriations. The court answered by citing reporting that ICE holds about $75 billion from the 2025 reconciliation law, and ordered respondents and the acting Philadelphia Field Office Director to appear 2026-04-01 to show cause why sanctions were not warranted. The hearing was continued to 04-13 (Doc. 63; docket text, truncated in my read, shows it granted the continuance in part and denied a request about John Rife appearing by video or telephone), then cancelled on 2026-04-09 and the case removed from the active docket “for reasons appearing to the Court.” The reason is not stated; the status reports (Docs. 61 etc.) are not in RECAP, so whether property was returned or paid for is unconfirmed. No sanctions order appears on the docket.

Context: 2026-03-06–tunheim-orders-ice-replace-eads-free-and-pay-ftca-claims-jbco-v-bondi; cited in 2026-10-13–gonzalez-v-dhs-class-action-ice-keeps-ids-eads-property-after-release.