Disgraced Wisconsin judge avoids jail time for helping illegal migrant evade ICE
Former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was found guilty of felony obstruction after prosecutors said she helped Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal migrant from Mexico, avoid ICE agents. Dugan was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and avoided prison time, even though federal prosecutors had requested a sentence of 15 to 21 months. Her attorney said the defense is preparing to appeal the conviction.
Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida has introduced an article of impeachment targeting Judge John E. Steele, INC News has learned.
House Resolution 1431 alleges that Senior U.S. District Judge John E. Steele of the Middle District of Florida committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” by ordering convicted Cuban plane hijacker Miakel Guerra Morales released from ICE custody.
Morales, an illegal immigrant from Cuba, was freed from ICE custody after Judge Steele issued the July 8 order.
A courtroom gavel is shown at left, with an inset image of Maikel Guerra Morales at right. (iStock; DHS)
“This is exactly the kind of activist judicial overreach the American people are sick of. Judge Steele had every legal justification to keep a convicted plane hijacker off our streets, and he chose to let him go instead,” Steube said.
Florida State Sen. Greg Steube sponsored the bill in the Florida Senate. “If you look at the history of why we as a country do (daylight saving), it doesn’t make any sense in today’s world.” ( )
According to DHS, Morales and several others assaulted a flight crew in 2003 and hijacked a Cuban commuter plane after boarding in Nueva Gerona.
Morales forced the pilot to fly more than 100 miles north to Monroe County, Florida, where it eventually landed at Key West International Airport.
The U.S. Marshals Service arrested him and charged him with aircraft piracy and conspiracy to interfere with a flight crew when the flight arrived.
He was convicted and sentenced to 22 years behind bars.
People walk on the street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa)
Despite the conviction, Judge Steele, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, ordered Morales’ release last week, citing a Supreme Court ruling governing the detention of foreign nationals whose removal cannot be carried out.
“The Government cannot lock individuals in a cell indefinitely as a workaround for a stalled deportation process,” the order said.
