On Friday, September 5, 2025, ABC News reported that Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an immigrant, pleaded guilty on Thursday to being illegally present in the United States, after allegedly being aided by a Milwaukee County judge to evade federal agents. Flores-Ruiz was charged in April by federal prosecutors for reentering the country illegally after a previous deportation.

According to the plea agreement, Flores-Ruiz faces a maximum of two years in prison and has agreed to be deported upon his release. The court records do not yet reflect a sentencing date. Martin J. Pruhs, Flores-Ruiz’s attorney, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Court documents indicate that Flores-Ruiz initially entered the U.S. illegally near Nogales, Arizona, in January 2013. He was apprehended and deported the following day. He later returned to the U.S. without authorization and was subsequently charged in Milwaukee with misdemeanor domestic battery in March.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents discovered Flores-Ruiz’s presence in the country after the Milwaukee County jail submitted his fingerprints to federal databases. On April 18, agents went to the county courthouse with plans to arrest him during a hearing for the battery case.

Judge Hannah Dugan, who was presiding over the battery case, became aware of the agents’ presence and their intent to apprehend Flores-Ruiz. According to an FBI affidavit, witnesses overheard Judge Dugan instructing Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to follow her before leading them out of a courtroom door typically reserved for deputies, jurors, court staff, and in-custody defendants. Flores-Ruiz then fled outside the building, but agents apprehended him after a short foot chase.

The FBI arrested Judge Dugan in April, and a federal grand jury subsequently indicted her on charges of obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. Following her arrest, the state Supreme Court suspended her from her judicial duties.

Judge Dugan has claimed that she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and should therefore be immune from prosecution. Her trial is scheduled for December, and she could face up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts.

Dugan’s arrest and indictment have intensified the conflict between President Donald Trump’s administration and local authorities regarding the administration’s immigration policies. Democrats have accused the Trump administration of attempting to make an example of Dugan to discourage judicial opposition to the crackdown.

Flores-Ruiz still faces three misdemeanor counts of domestic battery in Milwaukee County. His trial for that case is scheduled for October 13.

 

 

Source: ABC News