Immigrant Whom a Judge Is Accused of Aiding Agrees to a Plea Deal
Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, became an inadvertent figure in the debate over immigration enforcement when federal prosecutors charged a Milwaukee judge this spring with obstruction and said she had helped him evade immigration officials.
On Monday, a plea agreement was made public in the immigration case against Mr. Flores-Ruiz. The documents, signed on June 20, say he has agreed to plead guilty to entering the United States illegally after being removed from the country in 2013. According to the agreement, Mr. Flores-Ruiz will be deported from the United States after he serves whatever sentence he receives.
The offense carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000, but the agreement says a lower sentence is expected.
Martin J. Pruhs, a lawyer for Mr. Flores-Ruiz, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The agreement did not mention the Milwaukee judge, Hannah C. Dugan, or whether Mr. Flores-Ruiz would testify in her trial on the obstruction charge, which has yet to be scheduled.
Separately from the federal immigration case, he still faces misdemeanor domestic abuse charges in Wisconsin, stemming from an altercation he had with his roommates, according to a criminal complaint. Those charges were the reason Mr. Flores-Ruiz was appearing in Judge Dugan's courtroom in April. Mr. Flores-Ruiz has pleaded not guilty to those charges, which include battery.
Federal immigration agents discovered after Mr. Flores-Ruiz was arrested on the state charges that he was not in the country legally, and made plans to arrest him at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
Judge Dugan was indicted by a federal grand jury las month on charges of concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of proceedings. Federal prosecutors said that she steered Mr. Flores-Ruiz, who was appearing before her, to a courtroom exit that was separate from the hallway where immigration officers were waiting to arrest him.
He was chased by federal agents outside the courthouse and apprehended.
Federal agents said Judge Dugan was 'visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor' and called the situation 'absurd' when she learned that agents were in the courthouse to arrest Mr. Flores-Ruiz.
She has pleaded not guilty and has indicated that she will fight the charges, assembling a prominent legal team and raising money for her defense. Her lawyers said in a statement in May that 'Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court.'
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