Numerous prominent Democrats are blindly rallying to the defense of a Wisconsin judge arrested Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant avoid arrest.
FBI personnel arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan of Milwaukee on Friday morning after she allegedly helped an illegal immigrant accused of violent crimes slip away from federal immigration authorities on April 18. Numerous congressional Democrats quickly put out statements rallying around Dugan on Friday, just one week after Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and other Democrats flew to El Salvador to conduct a welfare check on the deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 gang member.
Dugan Complaint by Nick Pope on Scribd
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showed up to Dugan’s courthouse on April 18 to apprehend Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an illegal immigrant accused of domestic abuse who was scheduled for a hearing with the judge that day, according to the unsealed complaint. As Flores-Ruiz’s alleged victims sat in the courtroom, Dugan allegedly became visibly angry and took Flores-Ruiz into her chambers, instructing him to leave the building from a private exit after learning that ICE personnel were on the premises.
Shortly after the news of Dugan’s arrest broke, and in some cases before details of the allegations against her even became clear, elected Democrats rallied to her defense.
“In the United States, we have a system of checks and balances and separations of power for damn good reasons. The President’s administration arresting a sitting judge is a gravely serious and drastic move, and it threatens to breach those very separations of power,” Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin said in a statement. “Make no mistake, we do not have kings in this country and we are a Democracy governed by laws that everyone must abide by. By relentlessly attacking the judicial system, flouting court orders, and arresting a sitting judge, this President is putting those basic Democratic values that Wisconsinites hold dear on the line. While details of this exact case remain minimal, this action fits into the deeply concerning pattern of this President’s lawless behavior and undermining courts and Congress’s checks on his power.”
Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers also released a statement, suggesting that Dugan’s arrest is an example of the Trump administration using “dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level.”
Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar conceded that there are still details coming to light, but she nevertheless believes Dugan’s arrest to be “a grave step and undermines our system of checks and balances” and a “drastic move that threatens the rule of law.”
Van Hollen, back in the U.S. after his taxpayer-funded excursion to El Salvador, weighed in on the Dugan situation, saying that “this is what fascism looks like.”
“This Administration’s willingness to weaponize federal law enforcement is shocking and this arrest has all the hallmarks of overreach,” Democratic Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore said in a Friday statement. “Federal law enforcement coming into a community and arresting a judge is a serious matter and would require a high legal bar. I will be following this case closely and facts will come out, however, I am very alarmed at the increasingly lawless actions of the Trump Administration, and in particular ICE, who have been defying courts and acting with disregard for the Constitution.”
Other than Van Hollen’s visit and the allegations against Dugan, there have been multiple other alleged instances of Democrats or government officials intervening to protect illegal immigrants — including some with violent criminal records — from federal immigration enforcement. For example, a former New Mexico judge and his wife were arrested Thursday for allegedly harboring an illegal immigrant gang member in their home, while Democrats in multiple states and jurisdictions have tried to prevent local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities.
Despite pushback from Democrats and certain corners of the press, the Trump administration is forging ahead with its hardline immigration agenda. President Donald Trump told the Daily Caller that he is pleased with the rate of deportations so far on Tuesday, and the administration has so far deported tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, according to NBC News.
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