Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan has finally stepped down, bowing to intense pressure from Republican lawmakers ready to impeach her over a felony conviction tied to obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
In a nutshell, Dugan resigned on January 3, 2026, after being convicted on December 19, 2025, for aiding an unauthorized migrant in evading federal officers, a move that sparked a GOP push for her removal.
For hardworking taxpayers in Wisconsin, this saga isn’t just courtroom drama—it’s a direct hit to public trust and a financial burden as legal proceedings and potential impeachment processes rack up costs to the state.
Let’s rewind to April 2025, when this mess began at the Milwaukee County courthouse.
Federal immigration officers arrived on April 18, 2025, targeting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 31-year-old Mexican migrant who had illegally reentered the country and was due for a hearing before Dugan on a state battery charge.
Dugan didn’t just stand by—she actively intervened, confronting agents outside her courtroom and redirecting them to Chief Judge Carl Ashley’s office, claiming their administrative warrant wasn’t enough to detain Flores-Ruiz.
After sending the agents on a wild goose chase, Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a private jury door, clearly attempting to sidestep federal authority.
Agents weren’t fooled for long—they spotted Flores-Ruiz in a corridor, chased him down outside, and arrested him after a brief foot pursuit on that same day, April 18, 2025.
This wasn’t a minor misstep; it led to a federal jury convicting Dugan of felony obstruction for her role in the incident, a verdict delivered on December 19, 2025.
The consequences didn’t stop at the courtroom—President Donald Trump seized on Dugan’s case as a poster child for his tough immigration enforcement stance, amplifying the national spotlight.
Democrats, predictably, cried foul, arguing the administration was weaponizing the case to silence judges who dare challenge federal immigration operations. Their defense of Dugan smells like another attempt to prioritize progressive ideals over border security.
Meanwhile, by November 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed Flores-Ruiz had been deported, closing at least one chapter of this border-jumping debacle.
Dugan’s resignation letter, sent to the governor on January 3, 2026, came just as Republicans were gearing up to impeach her, a plan they’d been brewing since her conviction. Good riddance, some might say, but the timing suggests she knew the writing was on the wall.
In her letter, Dugan waxed poetic about her judicial record, saying, “Over the past decade, I handled 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.” Fine words, but they ring hollow when stacked against a conviction for undermining federal law.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos didn’t mince words either, stating, “I'm glad Dugan did the right thing by resigning and followed the clear direction from the Wisconsin Constitution.” He’s spot on—judges aren’t above the law, and resignation was the least she could do to spare Wisconsin further embarrassment.
