One case is a random example. Are two cases a pattern? We now have two judges, in two different states, under arrest and charged with aiding illegal aliens in avoiding the law.

Earlier this week, Carol covered the case of Judge Joel Cano of New Mexico, who resigned suddenly when it was revealed that he was letting a Tren de Aragua member live in a “casita” behind his house. The judge, his wife, and his daughter were all hanging out with this guy, Cristhian Ortega Lopez, and posted pictures of themselves with him, and Ortega Lopez was photographed using firearms owned by the judge and his family. This led to Ortega Lopez’s arrest for being an illegal in possession of a firearm, and Judge Cano promptly resigned. Well, now the former judge and his wife have both been arrested.

KFOX14/CBS4 were on the scene Thursday afternoon when the home of former Dona Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant and a probable cause arrest warrant, and both were taken into custody.

A spokesperson for ICE confirmed they were both taken into custody as part of an ongoing investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations.

Cano was charged with tampering with evidence, while Nancy was charged with conspiracy to tamper.

The raid comes after Cano had resigned in March following accusations that he and his wife, Nancy, had hosted Cristhian Ortega Lopez, an undocumented migrant from Venezuela, and an alleged TdA member.

Not only is the judge under arrest, but the New Mexico Supreme Court permanently banned him from ever holding judicial office again in the state.
https://twitter.com/ProudElephantUS/status/1915551882984001748
One has to wonder what other shoes could potentially drop in this case, and if the daughter could also be brought up on charges at some point. This case seems extreme, because it looks like Cano had a personal relationship with Ortega Lopez, and I don’t think other judges are doing this. There are a lot of open questions, but given the swiftness with which the New Mexico Supreme Court moved to bar Cano, and the arrest by ICE of both Cano and his wife, something was definitely afoot that smacks of more than just “we were just helping.”

However, another judge is now under arrest for aiding an illegal in Wisconsin. In this case, the judge, Hannah Dugan, allegedly helped an illegal alien in her court avoid arrest.

Judge Hannah Dugan, who has been on the Milwaukee County bench for nearly a decade, is accused of obstruction of justice and concealing Eduardo Flores-Ruiz from arrest following a pre-trial hearing last week.

Dugan appeared briefly in Milwaukee federal court Friday morning before being released after prosecutors said they would not ask for her detention before trial. Her arraignment has been set for May 15.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Post, an ICE offer and a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official showed up outside Dugan’s courtroom April 18 with a warrant for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest for illegally entering the US, but were told by a security guard and a sheriff’s sergeant to wait outside until after the hearing.

The complaint noted that Flores-Ruiz, 30, had been deported from the US once before in 2013. It was not immediately clear when he crossed the border again, and there is no evidence he did so legally.

Flores-Ruiz was being charged with misdemeanor battery, but re-entering the country illegally after deportation is a felony offense. Apparently Judge Dugan got angry that ICE had showed up, and allegedly arranged it so he and his lawyer could leave the courtroom without being seen by law enforcement.

The complaint states that while the team assigned to arrest Flores-Ruiz, which included FBI and DEA agents, waited for the hearing to conclude, they were photographed by a public defender, who informed Dugan’s clerk that “there appeared to be ICE agents in the hallway.”

After speaking with the clerk, Dugan “became visibly angry” and left the bench to confront the federal agents, according to an affidavit by a FBI special agent. After initially demanding that the officers leave the building if they were not there for a court appearance, Dugan allegedly directed the federal agents away from her courtroom to the chief judge’s office.

After Dugan had gone back inside, the complaint states, a deputy assigned to her courtroom told a member of the federal team that he had not alerted Dugan to their presence and added that the judge was “‘pushing’ Flores-Ruiz’s case through.”

After Flores-Ruiz’s appearance was completed with him watching from the jury box, the affidavit states, the deputy heard Dugan “say something like, ‘Wait, come with me’” before escorting Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out of the courtroom’s “jury door” to a non-public area of the courthouse, where the chief judge had advised the feds that they could not arrest Flores-Ruiz.

“These events were also unusual for two reasons,” the complaint states. “First, the courtroom deputy had previously heard Judge Dugan direct people not to sit in the jury box because it was exclusively for the jury’s use. Second, according to the courtroom deputy, only deputies, juries, court staff, and in-custody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door. Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.”

Later, a prosecuting attorney asked about the status of Flores-Ruiz’s battery case and was told it had been “adjourned.”

Flores-Ruiz and his attorney made it out of the courthouse before the suspect was arrested by a FBI and DEA agent following a brief foot chase.

I have a feeling that Dugan is about to be made an example of to other judges who may consider doing something similar.

I can confirm that our @FBI agents just arrested Hannah Dugan – a county judge in Milwaukee – for allegedly helping an illegal alien avoid an arrest by @ICEgov.

No one is above the law.

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) April 25, 2025

The case in New Mexico is extreme because of the involvement of the judge’s family and his home. This case in Wisconsin feels much more like the passive aggressive “resistance” that many judges are attempting when it comes to enforcing immigration law. Many judges have likely ordered law enforcement out of the courtroom when they are there on separate charges, but if Judge Dugan did indeed allow Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave undetected because she was aiding them, that opens up a whole different can of worms. We keep hearing that “no one is above the law” – does that not apply to judges, as well, if the case can be proven?

Very confused? On what grounds do you think some people are above the law when they are charged with harboring illegal aliens?

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 25, 2025

As we are currently seeing play out in the courts right now, many judges at the district level consider themselves to be arbiters of their own fiefdoms. Sometimes that extends as far as the walls of their courtroom, but other judges consider the entire United States to be under their jurisdiction. It is going to take the Supreme Court to clearly delineate what the limits of district court judges are, and then if those judges keep exceeding their authority, have the Court of Appeals immediately overturn the rulings.

These two cases are radically different in circumstances – one looks to be much more personally involved, while the other seems to be a spur-of-the-moment decision with severe consequences. Regardless, judges should be taking note. Judicial immunity covers a lot, but it does not cover the commission of a crime.

Featured image via succo on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license