Judge Convicted of Helping Illegal Evade ICE Resigns

A Milwaukee judge who was found guilty last month of obstructing federal agents by letting an illegal immigrant slip through a side door at her courthouse has resigned.

Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted last month on a federal felony charge, was charged by federal prosecutors after she distracted federal agents who were trying to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican citizen who had entered the United States illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state-level battery case.

The indictment, dated May 13, 2025, accused her of obstructing the law by assisting Floriz-Ruiz to evade arrest, and falsely advising ICE agents that they required a judicial warrant to arrest him.

Dugan was found guilty by a federal grand jury on Dec. 18, 2025 on one count of violating Section 1505 of Title 18 of the US code. Her resignation comes as GOP members of the Wisconsin State Legislature were preparing to impeach her and remove her from office following her conviction.

Democrat Gov. Tony Evers said his office had received her resignation letter and would move forward with filling the judicial vacancy. In her resignation letter addressed to Evers, Dugan said that during her years on the bench, she oversaw thousands of cases with "a commitment to treat all persons with dignity and respect, to act justly, deliberately and consistently, and to maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves."

"As you know, I am the subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings, which are far from concluded but which present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary," the letter continues.

"I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary," she added.

Dugan, who has not been sentenced, faces up to five years in prison.

Her attorneys filed a motion with the trial judge, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, on Dec. 23, 2025, asking to set aside the conviction.

Hannah Dugan broke the law, was found guilty by a jury, and is resigning.