Do judges have any enforcemnet power? Why not just ignore them?
Its called “Contempt of Court,” federal judges can imprison whoever they feel has disobeyed their order and they can keep someone held in contempt locked up until they agree to comply.
Strangely, civil contempt can be worse than criminal contempt. In criminal contempt you have “innocent until proven guilty” protections, usually a jury trial before a different judge. In civil contempt, the original judge can just order you to be locked up and there is no appeal.
The maximum time for imprisonment for contempt under federal guidelines is eighteen months.
Because of the perceived authority in their pronouncements. A lot of people WOULD ignore them, but are afraid of their own shadows (and loss of comforts.)