Julie Le, an attorney who recently made headlines by complaining to a U.S. District Judge about working for the Department of Homeland Security, has filed to run against Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar in Minnesota’s fifth congressional district.
Le announced her campaign just weeks after being fired from the Justice Department over exasperated comments she made before a judge on February 3. In that courtroom, Le told U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell, “The system sucks,” and, “This job sucks.”
According to reports, Le had volunteered with the U.S. attorney’s office the month prior as an ICE attorney.
Le asked the judge to hold her in contempt so she could get 24 hours of sleep, stating that attorneys were overwhelmed from dealing with court procedures related to Operation Metro Surge.
She was fired from the Department of Homeland Security just hours after the interaction. Le is running as a Democrat and says she wants to reform the immigration system rather than eliminate Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which Representative Omar has demanded multiple times.
Le stated in an interview that legislators are the only ones who can change the law or update existing laws to bring the situation under control.
The 47-year-old Le is an immigrant from Vietnam who first entered the United States in 1993. Representative Omar has held Minnesota’s fifth congressional seat since 2019. Le says health care access, immigration reform, and education funding are her top priorities.
Following the federal shutdown of Operation Metro Surge, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced that her office is investigating the actions of federal agents for potential criminal charges.
