FBI arrests Wisconsin judge for alleged 'obstruction' of immigrant's deportation

FBI AGENTS HAVE arrested a judge in the US for allegedly obstructing the deportation of an undocumented immigrant, a major escalation in the ongoing conflict between the government and the judiciary over the legality of Donald Trump’s immigration policies. 

Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, allegedly “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject” whom they were intending to detain at her courthouse, FBI director Kash Patel said in a post on X.

“The FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction – after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” Patel said.

The person was arrested shortly afterwards.

“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.

The Trump-appointed FBI director – one of the president’s most controversial appointees – deleted his post minutes after it appeared, but eventually reposted it.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi also confirmed the arrest of Judge Dugan – which authorities said occurred this morning in the courthouse – “for allegedly helping an illegal alien avoid an arrest” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

“No one is above the law,” Bondi posted on X.

The Trump administration has promised to prosecute local officials who do not assist in federal efforts to expel millions of undocumented immigrants from the US. 

‘Dictator type of stuff’

Dugan appeared in court today before a US magistrate judge in the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, where she made no public comments, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

According to the paper, her attorney Craig Mastantuono told the court: “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”

Democratic Congress member Darren Soto blasted the Dugan arrest as “third world country dictator type of stuff.”

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“Everyday they get more desperate,” he posted on X. “This will be bounced out of court as quick as the rest of their illegal actions.”

Several Republicans however rushed to Patel’s defence.

“The corruption and determination of these anti-American activist judges to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens is appalling,” congresswoman Diana Harshbarger said. “Thankfully, a stand is being taken against them.”

A number of federal and state judges across the United States have issued rulings that put several of Trump’s executive actions on hold, particularly related to his bid to exercise unprecedented powers in deporting immigrants.

The Trump administration has been butting heads with federal judges, rights groups and some Democrats who say he has trampled on or ignored constitutionally enshrined rights in rushing to deport people, sometimes without due process.

The most infamous case has been that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a resident of Maryland originally from El Salvador. Abrego Garcia had been living in the US for about 14 years and an immigration judge had shielded him from being deported to his native country due to risk of persecution. 

He was deported to El Salvador last month and is being held in a notorious prison there along with other men accused of being members of a criminal gang.

Abrego Garcia was deported by mistake and the US Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the US nearly two weeks ago.

But the government has claimed the case is out of their hands now that he is in El Salvador.

While officials initially admitted he had been deported by mistake, the White House has since claimed he is a member of a criminal gang called MS-13. 

In another sign of the hostile environment in the US, a former county magistrate judge in New Mexico and his wife were taken into custody yesterday after federal agents raided their home over their harbouring of an alleged undocumented migrant who is believed to be a member of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, US media reported.

Legal experts and political opponents in the US have warned that Trump is creating a constitutional crisis by ignoring or attempting to strong-arm judges and state officials when it comes to carrying out his deportation policies. 

With reporting from AFP

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