Wisconsin Judge Charged with Assisting Undocumented Immigrants

Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan has officially been charged with helping undocumented immigrants evade U.S. immigration enforcement. This development comes after her arrest last month.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors filed charges against Dugan, alleging that she supported illegal non-citizens in avoiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She also faces accusations of “obstruction of justice” related to concealing a Mexican national, Eduardo Flores Louise, from federal authorities following a pre-trial hearing.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the indictment was announced at the end of the day’s court proceedings. Initially, Dugan faced accusations of aiding someone to avoid arrest and obstructing justice, but the court found enough grounds to move forward with the case.

Since her arrest, Dugan has been temporarily suspended from her judicial duties. Her defense team has issued a brief statement addressing the ongoing situation.

This incident followed an April 18 pre-trial meeting where Flores-Ruiz appeared before Dugan on three misdemeanor battery charges. During that time, an ICE agent was waiting outside the court with a federal warrant for Flores Louise’s arrest. Court officials reportedly asked the agent to wait until the hearing concluded. However, before the agent could enter, Dugan allegedly escorted Flores Lewis and his lawyer through a side entrance to avoid detection.

After the allegations became public, Dugan declined to comment on the investigation into her actions. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old undocumented immigrant she attempted to hide is currently detained at the ICE facility in Dodge County, Wisconsin, about 50 miles from Milwaukee. According to court documents, he had been deported in 2013 before re-entering the U.S. illegally.