Wisconsin’s Department of Administration (DoA) has issued a memo to state employees telling them not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
In a document dated 18 April, the DoA tells state employees what to do if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrive at state government buildings.
State employees should refuse to answer questions, even about known individuals; deny access to files, even if a warrant is presented; block agents from entering non-public areas if they don’t have a warrant; and tell agents to leave if no attorney is present.
The document was provided in response to “questions from state employees regarding what to do in case of an encounter with federal agents at work,” an email accompanying the document, sent by Deputy Secretary Anne Hanson.
On Friday, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah C. Dugan was arrested after she was alleged to have helped an illegal immigrant avoid arrest in her courtroom.
Dugan, 65, faces charges related to obstructing a proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent their arrest. She is reported to have delayed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) apprehension of Mexican immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 30, while he appeared in her courtroom on a misdemeanor battery charge earlier this month. Flores-Ruiz, who was deported once before, in 2013, has now been detained by ICE.
When authorities presented a warrant for Flores-Ruiz’s arrest, Dugan apparently asked for more information and told the agents they needed to speak to the chief judge before they could arrest Flores-Ruiz there.
The FBI’s affidavit alleges the judge “became visibly angry, commented that the situation was ‘absurd,’ left the bench, and entered chambers. At the time, Ruiz was seated in the gallery of the courtroom.”
The affidavit claims a courtroom deputy saw Dugan telling Flores-Ruiz and his attorneys to exit through a side door, while the agents sought out the chief judge.
In response to the arrest, Republican state lawmaker Bob Donovan said, “In all my years of Milwaukee politics and public safety issues, working with cops, district attorneys, and judges, I have never seen a more irresponsible act by an officer of the court, let alone a judge, if true.”