Wisconsin Judge Arrested by Administration Seems To Have Law on Her Side

on May 1, 2025

SAN DIEGO -- I've been wrestling with the story of the Wisconsin judge who went quickly from "your honor" to "the defendant."

The more I hear about this case, the less certain I am that Hannah Dugan -- a Milwaukee circuit court judge -- did anything wrong.

Of course, you'll never convince President Donald Trump and MAGA of that. But what do they know about the rule of law?

Trump himself faced four criminal cases, with a total of 91 criminal charges. In a New York case, he was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records. The real estate developer beat the rap not because he was innocent but because he was reelected president.

Once he took office, Trump wiped his feet on the concept of law and order by issuing a string of questionable pardons. He excused the heinous actions of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters including many who assaulted and threatened to kill police officers.

Just this week, Trump pardoned Michele Fiore, a Republican Nevada politician who was facing federal charges and decades in prison. Fiore stood accused of wire fraud and stealing money raised to build a statue honoring a fallen Las Vegas police officer. Prosecutors said she spent some of the money on plastic surgery and her daughter's wedding.

I'm sorry, I lost my place. Where was I? That's right. The Trump administration was getting ready to sanctimoniously lecture the rest of us about the importance of the rule of law. You don't want to miss that.

Back in Wisconsin, Dugan was arrested and charged with obstructing a government proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. All this for allegedly helping a man in her court -- identified as Eduardo Flores-Ruiz -- briefly evade immigration authorities. Federal prosecutors accuse Dugan of hindering immigration agents who arrived outside her courtroom to arrest Flores-Ruiz. Dugan allegedly helped Flores-Ruiz -- a Mexican national who was in court to face misdemeanor domestic violence charges -- evade arrest by allowing him to exit through a jury door. The agents quickly arrested him outside the courthouse.

The extremes on both the right and left seem to find the case against the judge easy to adjudicate. Pro-Trump conservatives think Dugan is guilty of trying to undermine the administration's immigration enforcement policy, and that prosecutors should throw the book at her.

I don't this case is so cut-and-dried. On the one hand, if Dugan was in fact trying to commit an act of civil disobedience by thwarting federal immigration authorities, she ought to be punished. On the other hand, what if Dugan was simply trying to get Flores-Ruiz out of her courtroom and to a public space where agents ultimately arrested him?

The bigger issue is that ICE agents should not have unfettered access to courthouses because undocumented immigrants will avoid those places when summoned to appear as defendants or witnesses.

There is another wrinkle. There always is with the administration's fast and furious enforcement of immigration law, Mistakes will happen when a president clamors for 1 million deportations in his first year and threatens to fire people if that goal isn't met.

In this case, according to a criminal complaint, Dugan got "visibly angry" when she was informed that ICE agents were standing outside the courtroom. After being told that the agents had a warrant to arrest Flores-Ruiz, the judge likely concluded the agents were getting ready to disrupt the proceedings. So we have federal agents, but they're seeking to enter a courtroom in a state courthouse.

Dugan asked if the agents had a judicial warrant (which is issued by a judge or magistrate and allows authorities to arrest people in "private spaces" including courtrooms).

The agents did not. They only had an administrative warrant (which is commonly used by ICE and issued by the Department of Homeland Security and signed by an immigration officer instead of a judge and which does not grant access to a private space such as a courtroom).

Who would know the difference between distinct kinds of warrants? A judge, that's who.

Dugan is scheduled to enter a plea on May 15. Her attorney, Steven Biskupic, sounds confident that the judge will beat the rap.

"Judge Dugan has committed herself to the rule of law and due process," he said. "She will defend herself vigorously and looks forward to being exonerated."

Pro-Trump conservatives will whine that the warrant snafu is a technicality. They haven't paid attention. A lot of people deported by this administration have been removed on a technicality.

MAGA wants to look ferocious. But they come across as fickle.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.