Wisconsin judge resigns after being convicted of obstructing migrant arrest

By Hannah Lang

Jan 3 (Reuters) – A Wisconsin judge who was convicted last month of obstruction for helping a migrant appearing in her courtroom evade an immigration arrest submitted her resignation on Saturday, according to media reports.

Hannah Dugan, an elected judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, faced threats of impeachment by the Republican-controlled state legislature since her conviction amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to discourage interference with his hard-line immigration tactics.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ office and a lawyer for Dugan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prosecutors alleged that Dugan intended to help a migrant from Mexico, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, escape an immigration arrest when he was scheduled to appear before her on domestic violence charges.

Dugan had pleaded not guilty. Her lawyers had argued she was following a policy directing staff to alert a supervisor to the presence of ICE in the courthouse. She had been suspended from judicial duties by Wisconsin’s top court while the case unfolded.

Justice Department officials touted the case as an example of prosecutors’ willingness to pursue powerful public officials.

The Trump administration has loosened restrictions on immigration enforcement operations at local courthouses as part of a push to deport millions of migrants living illegally in the United States.

Dugan was first elected as a county judge in 2016, and before that served as head of the local branch of Catholic Charities, which provides refugee resettlement programs among other services.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by Sergio Non and Chris Reese)