Wisconsin judge who helped illegal evade ICE agents loses bid to drop charges

A Wisconsin judge accused of helping an illegal migrant avoid federal immigration authorities lost her bid to throw out the Trump administration’s case against her.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman on Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss the federal case against Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, paving the way for a trial on charges that she obstructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to continue, according to court documents. Adelman rejected Dugan’s argument that she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and thus immune from prosecution.

“A review of the relevant history reveals the government has the better of the argument,” Adelman wrote in his ruling.

“There is no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of a judge’s job,’” Adelman said. “As the magistrate judge noted, the same is true in the bribery prosecutions, concededly valid, where the judges were prosecuted for performing official acts intertwined with bribery.”

Appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton and a former Democratic state senator in Wisconsin, the 85-year-old Adelman is considered a liberal judge.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Dugan in April after investigating her for allegedly helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal migrant charged with violence, flee from ICE agents. The indictment accuses Dugan of obstructing a U.S. agency and concealing an individual to prevent an arrest, which could carry a penalty of up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine.

Deportation officers arrived at the Milwaukee courthouse on April 18 to arrest Flores-Ruiz, who had been scheduled for a hearing with Dugan that day. However, before ICE agents could reach the suspect, Dugan directed him and his lawyer down a hallway leading to another floor, allegedly to help them avoid the agents.

“We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a public statement following the incident. “Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.”

The Democrat-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan from her duties shortly after the arrest, temporarily prohibiting her from her responsibilities as a county judge “until further order of the court.” A federal grand jury indicted the beleaguered judge in May over the charges that she allegedly and improperly aided the illegal migrant.

This is not the first time that the Trump administration has gone after a judge for allegedly helping an illegal migrant evade ICE agents from their courtroom. During President Donald Trump’s first White House term, federal prosecutors slapped felony charges against a Massachusetts judge Shelley Joseph in 2018 for allegedly allowing an illegal migrant to flee through a backdoor to avoid an ICE agent waiting in the lobby.