A United States magistrate judge recommended that the case against a Wisconsin judge accused of assisting a Mexican immigrant in evading federal authorities’ custody be allowed to proceed.
In April, Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was detained and charged with hindering an immigration arrest operation.
Dugan pleaded not guilty to the federal allegations against her in May, claiming that as a judge, she is exempt from prosecution for activities performed in her official position in and around the courthouse. She also claimed that the federal prosecution breached the constitutional separation of powers.
However, in a nonbinding recommendation issued Monday, Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph recommended against dismissing the charges against Dugan, writing that “a judge’s actions, even when done in her official capacity, do not bar criminal prosecution if the actions were done in violation of the criminal law.”
Joseph went on to argue that concerns about whether Dugan breached the law or was “merely performing her judicial duties,” as well as the fact that the two sides disagree on the facts of the case, cannot be settled by a request to dismiss.
“We are disappointed in the magistrate judge’s non-binding recommendation, and we will appeal it,” Dugan’s attorney, Steven Biskupic, said in a statement. “This is only one step in what we expect will be a long journey to preserve the independence and integrity of our courts.”
Dugan’s arrest marked a significant increase in the administration’s threats to target local authorities it perceives as opposing its intentions to carry out mass deportations.
The government accused Dugan of diverting federal immigration officials from a court hearing on April 18 in which Eduardo Flores-Ruiz was scheduled to appear on misdemeanor state assault charges.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Dugan, she escorted the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom via a jury exit that leads to a private area of the courthouse—but it wasn’t long before federal agents stationed in an adjoining public hallway spotted Flores-Ruiz, whom they pursued and arrested.
A few days later, Dugan was arrested and handcuffed in public, after which he was suspended from his responsibilities.
If convicted of both counts, Dugan could face up to six years in jail and a $350,000 fine.
Last month, Flores-Ruiz consented to plead guilty to illegally re-entering the United States after being deported in 2013. Under the terms of the bargain, he faces up to two years in prison and has agreed to be deported after serving his sentence.
A federal magistrate judge in Wisconsin has recommended that the case against a Milwaukee judge accused of helping an undocumented man evade arrest by immigration authorities not be dismissed.https://t.co/alH2ssqRGb
— ABC News (@ABC) July 8, 2025
In April, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an administrative order on Tuesday directing Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan to be “temporarily relieved of her official duties.”
Dugan was arrested and charged with obstruction of an official procedure on Friday after evidence surfaced that she had concealed an illegal immigrant from federal authorities, according to a criminal complaint. She was also charged with hiding a person to avoid detection and arrest.
The order read that Dugan “is temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge in the State of Wisconsin.”
The state Supreme Court said that the ruling would be in force “until further order of the court.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi blasted Dugan’s actions on Fox News at the time.
“We could not believe that a judge really did that,” Bondi said. “You cannot obstruct a criminal case. And really, shame on her. It was a domestic violence case of all cases, and she’s protecting a criminal defendant over victims of crime.”
Bondi said Flores-Ruiz beat up two people, “a guy and a girl.”
“[He] beat the guy, hit the guy 30 times, knocked him to the ground, choked him, beat up a woman so badly; they both had to go to the hospital,” she said.
