Judge Who Helped Undocumented Migrant Evade Authorities Avoids Jail

A former Wisconsin judge avoided prison after being convicted of helping an undocumented immigrant evade law enforcement inside her courtroom.

Former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, 67, was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after authorities said she assisted Eduardo Flores Ruiz, a Mexican immigrant, in slipping past officers.

Dugan was seen arriving at the Milwaukee courthouse on Wednesday morning, where prosecutors described her conduct as an “abuse of trust.”

At the sentencing hearing, however, US District Judge Lynn Adelman said she did not believe incarceration was required, stating: “For several reasons, prison is not necessary to satisfy the statutory purposes for sentencing.”

“This is a defendant who made a bad decision in the moment. She appreciated the wrongfulness of her conduct, but this is nevertheless a few minutes of conduct for a person that has dedicated her life in service to the needy,” Adelman said.

Dugan stepped down from the bench in January, one month after a jury found her guilty of felony obstruction.

Addressing the court Wednesday, she said she had sought to “maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves,” adding that her actions were “not done with any malicious intent or to advance any personal interest.”

“I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job,” Dugan said.

Federal prosecutors accused Dugan of purposely distracting officers attempting to arrest Flores Ruiz and leading him out through a private door last April.

A prosecutor acknowledged on Wednesday that Dugan ‘has experienced collateral damage because of her conduct,’ but added that ‘judges can’t choose to disregard the law.’

Defense Attorney Jason Luczak told reporters outside of the courtroom that Adelman ‘made the right call’ sparing Dugan from prison. 

‘The collateral consequences to her were great and we appreciate that the judge took that into consideration whenever he sentenced her to a fine only in this case,’ he said. 

‘As for the next steps, we look forward to appealing this case to the seventh circuit.’

Since the allegations against Dugan, Republican lawmakers have been lobbying to make an example of Dugan and sought to impeach her since her conviction.

Republican representative Tom Tiffany, a Trump loyalist seeking position as Wisconsin’s governor, said on social media that authorities should ‘lock her up.’ 

Dugan’s case was specifically highlighted by the Trump administration, who branded her an activist judge, as justification for the President’s intense crackdown on immigration. 

Meanwhile, her attorneys argued that her case was an attempt to make an example out of the judge and ‘crush her.’

Immigrant rights activists and supporters of the judge similarly said that her case was being proposed to combat judicial opposition to Trump’s immigration efforts, NBC News reported. 

Her legal team previously pushed for Dugan’s immunity as a judge to save her from prosecution, however, Judge Adelman rejected these attempts. 

Prosecutors argued in a memo filed last week that Dugan’s actions violated her oath as a judge, placing the public and law enforcement in danger, the outlet reported. 

‘Judges are entrusted with tremendous discretion, but there is a line they cannot cross,’ Executive Assistant US Attorney Richard Frohling wrote, according to NBC News. 

‘The defendant crossed that line. This is a serious offense, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence,’ he continued. 

Yet, Dugan’s defense team have argued that the former judge has been ‘punished enough,’ noting her resignation and threats to her safety. Her attorneys also said they plan to file an appeal, according to the outlet.

On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Flores Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.

The immigrant was facing state charges for allegedly punching a person 30 times in the face after they complained of his loud music. 

An affidavit described the former judge as being ‘visibly angry’ over the arrival of ICE agents at the courthouse and that she described the situation as ‘absurd.’

Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the office of her boss, Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, because she told them their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient grounds to arrest Flores Ruiz.

After the agents left, Dugan returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of ‘wait, come with me,’ before ushering Flores Ruiz and his lawyer through a jury door into a non-public area of the courthouse.

The action was unusual, the affidavit says, because ‘only deputies, juries, court staff, and in-custody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door. Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.’ 

Agents spotted Flores Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. The US Department of Homeland Security announced in November that he had been deported.

Dugan’s attorney, Craig Mastantuono, previously said: ‘Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.’ 

Speaking on Fox News in April, Former Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Dugan had ‘put the lives of our law enforcement officers at risk.’

Dugan served as a Milwaukee County Circuit Judge for nine years after taking office in 2016 and winning re-election in 2022.

This is a breaking news story.