A Wisconsin judge who assisted an illegal immigrant in evading federal immigration authorities has stepped down from her position, citing extraordinary legal challenges against her. According to Breitbart News, Milwaukee Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan announced her resignation in response to what she called “unprecedented federal legal proceedings.”
Matt Smith, political director for WISN 12 News, posted Dugan’s resignation letter to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) on X. In the letter, Dugan emphasized that Wisconsin residents “deserve to start the year with a judge on the bench in Milwaukee County Branch 31.”
“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,” Dugan stated. “I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary. However, the Wisconsin citizens that I cherish deserve to start the year with a judge on the bench in Milwaukee County Branch 31 rather than have the fate of that Court rest in a partisan fight in the state legislature.”
Dugan expressed that she was submitting her resignation “with a heavy heart.” She added that “my faith in God and in our legal system leads me to trust that in the long run justice will be served for our independent judiciary and for me.”
The resignation follows a December conviction by a Milwaukee jury. Dugan was found guilty of “obstructing an official proceeding” after she “escorted” Eduardo Flores Ruiz, an illegal migrant, “out of her courtroom” to help him avoid ICE officials.
Although Dugan faces “as much as five years in prison” for her conviction, she is anticipated to receive minimal or no jail time “as a first-time offender,” reports the New York Times.
Rouge officials like Dugan must be punished. When impunity is allowed to occur in a polity, it will encourage further illegal acts and undermine the basic political fabric. That said, comprehensive immigration restriction coupled with punitive actions against rogue judges must happen for order to be restored.
