Former U.S. Judge fined $5,000 instead of receiving prison sentence

Minara Helen: Judge who helped illegal immigrant evade ICE walks away with $5,000 fine, no prison time 

A former Wisconsin judge received only a $5,000 fine after a jury found her guilty of helping illegal immigrants evade federal agents.

The jury found former Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan guilty of obstruction with the judge fining her $5,000 determined Wednesday during sentence hearing, according to Spectrum News 1. Dugan spoke for the first time during the trials explaining that she upheld “decorum” and “safety,” aspects that the “public deserves,” the outlet reported.

Dugan’s defense team used character witnesses to demonstrate that Dugan acted as a good public servant and Christian by helping illegal immigrants, according to Spectrum News 1. “I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job.”

She was also a member of left-wing groups including the League of Women Voters, the Milwaukee Turners and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as well as a chapter leader of Catholic Charities, a group known for its pro-immigration stance.

Dugan resigned in January after Republican lawmakers prepared impeachment.

Dugan’s defense team and Judge Lynn Adelman didn’t immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. “Former Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan betrayed her oath and the people she served when she obstructed federal law enforcement during an immigration enforcement operation,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a December 2025 post to X. “Today, a federal jury of her peers found her guilty and sent a clear message: the American people respect law and order.”

US Customs and Border Protection agents arrest a man after not providing documents proving he’s a citizen of the United States while patrolling a neighborhood during immigration enforcement activity in Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 11, 2026.

Prosecutors said Dugan confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and FBI agents outside her courtroom protecting and leading 31-year-old Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz to a private jury door, but agents followed him outside arresting him. Border Patrol agents has already arrested Flores-Ruiz prior in Nogales, Ariz., sending him to Mexico, DCNF reported.

ICE removed Flores-Ruiz November 13, 2025, according to a Homeland Security Press Release.

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