A Mexican national, who reportedly received help from a Wisconsin judge to avoid being apprehended by immigration officials earlier this year, has been deported, authorities announced on Friday.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, who has an extensive criminal record, was returned to Mexico on Thursday.
“Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal immigrant previously deported, is notorious for his violent criminal record, including charges of strangulation, battery, and domestic abuse. Judge Hannah Dugan’s interference in this criminal’s arrest redefines the term activist judge,” remarked DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Images of Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, alongside Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, were released. (Credits: DHS/Milwaukee Independent via AP)
“Thanks to the courageous efforts of ICE enforcement, this criminal has been expelled from our nation,” McLaughlin continued. “Our message is clear: If you’re here illegally and violate our laws, we will track you down, detain you, and deport you. That’s a commitment.”
Previously expelled from the U.S. in 2013, Flores-Ruiz drew significant attention in April following his arrest after a pre-trial hearing presided over by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan.
Dugan was also arrested for allegedly hiding Flores-Ruiz in her jury room to prevent his arrest as ICE agents attempted to take him into custody at the courthouse.
Dugan is accused of knowingly helping Ruiz exit a courtroom through a back door that was not accessible to the public in an effort for him to evade ICE authorities. She also allegedly told officers in her court that they needed a warrant to make the arrest.
The surveillance footage released by Milwaukee County appears to show Judge Hannah Dugan, wearing her black robes, confronting ICE agents in the courthouse hallway. (Milwaukee County)
At the time of the incident, Flores-Ruiz’s alleged victims were in the courtroom with state prosecutors when Dugan helped him escape immigration arrest, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
She was arrested and charged with obstruction and has pleaded not guilty.
In May, the judge filed a motion to dismiss the charges against her, saying she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and therefore is immune to prosecution. She argued that the federal government violated Wisconsin’s sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.
Flores-Ruiz entered the U.S. illegally in 2013 through Nogales, Arizona before he was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol. It was not known when he re-entered the country.
Last week, a judge sentenced him to time served for the immigration violation.
Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, was deported to his native Mexico following months in detention after a Milwaukee judge allegedly tried helping him evade arrest by immigration authorities. (Getty Images; Department of Homeland Security)
“I very much hope you can find a way to make a living back home rather than coming back here,” U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper told him during his sentencing.
