Hannah Dugan speaks during a forum at the Milwaukee Bar Association in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while seeking election to Milwaukee County Circuit Court, March 15, 2016.
Mike De Sisti | Via Reuters
Federal authorities have arrested a former New Mexico judge and a Wisconsin judge in two separate cases, accusing them of interfering with Trump administration immigration enforcement efforts.
Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested Friday morning and charged with obstruction for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest after he appeared in her courtroom last week.
Dugan’s arrest came one day after federal authorities arrested a former New Mexico judge and his wife on charges related to them reportedly harboring an undocumented immigrant with alleged ties to the notorious gang Tren de Aragua.
The actions against judges mark a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to remove undocumented immigrants from the U.S.
“Nobody should be surprised by the arrest of two judges,” Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, said in a statement Friday.
“If you actively impede our enforcement efforts or if you knowingly harbor or conceal illegal aliens from [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] you will be prosecuted,” Homan wrote on X.
Dugan’s arrest drew swift condemnation from Trump’s critics.
“Americans are watching with outrage the stunning news that Trump’s FBI has arrested a sitting judge in Milwaukee for alleged obstruction of an immigration arrest,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a statement.
“This is a drastic escalation and dangerous new front in Trump’s authoritarian campaign of trying to bully, intimidate, and impeach judges who won’t follow his dictates,” said Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. “We must do whatever we can to defend the independent judiciary in America.”
Arrest in New Mexico
A former New Mexico judge, Joel Cano, and his wife, Nancy Cano, were arrested after ICE accused them of harboring members of a Venezuelan gang.
Courtesy: Dona Ana County Jail)
Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano, who resigned last month, and Nancy Cano both face charges of tampering with evidence, jail records show.
Cano, who has served on the bench since 2011, submitted his resignation letter on March 3, days after Homeland Security raided his home, court documents obtained by NBC News show.
The raid came months after federal agents received a tip in January that Cristhian Ortega, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela and suspected Tren de Aragua member, and others were staying on the Canos’ property.
Ortega is charged in a separate federal case in New Mexico with possessing a firearm as an Illegal alien.
A sworn affidavit in Cano’s criminal case said that Homeland Security agents conducted another raid at the former judge’s home on Thursday, in search of a cell phone they believed was Ortega’s.
In an interview with agents, Cano said “that he destroyed the cellphone that belonged to Ortega by smashing it with a hammer and discarded the remaining pieces in the city trash dumpster approximately five weeks ago,” according to that affidavit.
Cano has denied any knowledge that the three people were affiliated with the gang.
“The very first time I had ever heard that the boys could possible have any association with Tren de Aragua was when I was informed of that by agents … on the day of the raid,” Cano wrote in a March letter to the state Supreme Court responding to allegations against him.
The Wisconsin arrest
Eduardo Flores Ruiz, seen in a mug shot taken when he was arrested in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 14, 2025.
Courtesy: Milwaukee County Sheriff
A U.S. Marshals Service spokeswoman confirmed to CNBC that Dugan was arrested at about 8:30 a.m. local time on courthouse property.
Dugan was released on bond after making her initial appearance Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee before Magistrate Judge Stephen Dries, according to her case docket. Dugan’s “arraignment and plea” proceeding is set for May 15, the docket shows.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Chief Judge Carl Ashley told NBC that the judicial code of conduct restricts him from commenting on the matter, but said Dugan’s court calendar “will be covered by another judge as needed.”
FBI Director Kash Patel announced on X that the FBI believes Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away” from Eduardo Flores-Ruiz as agents were attempting to arrest him at her courthouse.
“Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Patel said in the post.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday that the FBI was looking into Dugan’s conduct surrounding an attempted arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at her courthouse on April 18.
On that day, Dugan “became visibly angry” after learning that ICE agents were waiting in the hallway to arrest Flores-Ruiz after a hearing in his criminal battery case, according to a sworn affidavit unsealed Friday.
Dugan and another judge entered the hallway and confronted the arrest team, telling one deportation officer that he needed a judicial warrant to make an arrest instead of an “administrative warrant.” Dugan then ordered them to the chief judge’s office, the affidavit alleged.
After returning to her courtroom, Dugan “escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel” through a jury door, which leads to a nonpublic area of the building, the affidavit stated, citing “multiple witnesses.”
Flores-Ruiz and his attorney then returned to the hallway and took an elevator down to leave the building, the special agent alleged. After being told that Flores-Ruiz was in front of the courthouse, agents ran toward him and identified themselves as law enforcement officers.
“Flores-Ruiz turned around and sprinted down the street. A foot chase ensued,” according to the affidavit.
“The agents pursued Flores-Ruiz for the entire length of the courthouse and ultimately apprehended him near the intersection of W. State Street and 10th Street. Flores-Ruiz was handcuffed and detained,” it alleged.
Dugan’s criminal complaint shows she has been charged with concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest, and obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a federal department or agency.
ICE agents have previously arrested people in the courthouse hallways in March and April, according to the Journal Sentinel.
ICE did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A person who answered a call to Dugan’s chambers declined to comment.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to NBC, “The days of actively aiding and abetting illegal aliens invading our country are over.”
“The Trump administration will never waver on putting Americans and America First with a no-nonsense approach to immigration enforcement. In this administration, anyone who commits crimes exposes themselves to criminal liability,” Desai said.