Updated April 28, 2025 at 1:21 PM CDT
The arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan by the FBI could have a chilling effect and keep immigrants away from court appearances out of fear they may be arrested, a Wisconsin state lawmaker warns.
The FBI arrested Dugan last week and charged her with obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent an arrest.
Dugan is accused in a criminal complaint of ushering Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who faced a misdemeanor battery charge and was living in the U.S. without legal status, through the jury door out of her courtroom to evade federal agents who wanted to arrest him with an administrative warrant.
State Rep. Ryan Clancy, a Democrat representing parts of Milwaukee, told Morning Edition that courthouses, like operating rooms and classrooms, have typically been protected spaces. But Clancy said the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in courthouses changes their nature.
"People who would normally be willingly participating in the justice system are now going to think twice if they think that showing up either as a defendant or a witness may lead to their own arrest," Clancy said. Dugan's arrest prompted protests outside the federal courthouse in Milwaukee.
Beyond immigrants, Clancy also said Dugan's arrest is an effort by federal officials to scare officials and others from "standing up to the Trump regime."
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Steve Inskeep: Do you agree on the basic facts of what seems to have happened here? That there's a Mexican migrant in her court, that ICE agents ask for him, that Judge Dugan gets upset about this and lets him out the side door.
State Rep. Ryan Clancy: I think some of those facts are in dispute, and I think there's a significant difference here between an administrative warrant, which is what ICE said and admitted that they have in their complaint, which is essentially an internal document, and an actual warrant signed by an actual judge. And I'm very grateful that Judge Dugan recognized the difference and acted accordingly. And she just stood up for our community here.
Inskeep: You could imagine someone saying that the judge has an obligation to cooperate with law enforcement authorities, the federal authorities who appear in front of her. But you're saying that you're arguing that they may have had less than full authority to demand full cooperation from the judge?
Clancy: Absolutely. They did not have a real warrant signed by a real judge. Essentially, an administrative warrant from ICE is a piece of paper that they produced themselves saying they can do what they want. It doesn't have the same powers as an actual warrant does. Judge Dugan, as a judge herself, apparently realized that and did what I hope any of us would do, which is standing up for members of our community who are being targeted by the Trump regime.
Inskeep: Can you tell me, though, what ICE should have done? They have this federal policy to deport people. That is also the law that people who are not here legally should not be here legally. They are supposed to get this guy. What should they have done? Should they have just left him in the courthouse? Should they have ignored him, tried to find him somewhere else? What should they have done?
Clancy: Certainly. I mean, I do not think that ICE should be deporting people at all. We have done without ICE for many years. And even prior to that, there's been a longstanding tradition for good reason of not going into those safe, protected spaces. So we can debate whether or not ICE should be deporting people at all. They should not. ICE should be abolished. That said, they absolutely should not be going into courtrooms. That has a chilling effect both on people that are there to participate and also elected and appointed officials like judges, who are clearly being targeted by this administration as well.
Inskeep: I want to make sure I understand what you're telling me. You're not saying ICE should not be deporting people from courts, which is a point of view. You're saying I should not be deporting people. Just anybody should come here for any reason and nobody should enforce the law?
Clancy: That's a larger issue. Certainly we do not have significant legal pathways for folks who want to do the right thing and want to be here and join our American society in the right way. And it is frustrating for people to hear they should be doing it the right way. There are many, many people who are integrated into our communities, who are part of our communities who are trying to do the right thing and are trying to get legal status, despite the fact that we make it really difficult at the federal level. We should not be deporting those people either. And to be very clear, ICE should not exist. ICE should be abolished.
Inskeep: Are you concerned about where this is going with a judge being arrested, given these circumstances?
Clancy: Absolutely. And this is incredibly unprecedented. A functioning democracy does not arrest sitting judges for doing their job, not for doing anything criminal or illegal. And they certainly don't, you know, handcuff them and then perp walk them in handcuffs in front of cameras. The goal here clearly is a chilling effect. It's to stop people from doing their jobs and standing up for a community when they are standing up to the Trump regime.
Copyright 2025 NPR
