In a dramatic escalation of tensions between federal immigration enforcement and state judicial authority, Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Monica Isham has announced her intent to halt all court proceedings in Sawyer County’s Branch 2. Her decision comes in response to the recent arrest of fellow Judge Hannah Dugan by federal agents, and signals a deepening rift over the role that state judges may play in cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions. In an email sent to her judicial peers, ominously titled “Guidance Requested or I Refuse to Hold Court,” Isham warned that, absent clear directives and assurances, she will refuse to convene court sessions, placing her staff and community at risk from what she characterized as unconstitutional deportations and potential “concentration camp” detentions.
This article provides an in-depth, professional analysis of the events that precipitated Judge Isham’s ultimatum, the legal and constitutional questions it raises, reactions from federal authorities, implications for Wisconsin’s judiciary, and the broader national debate over immigration enforcement and judicial independence.
The Arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan
On Friday, federal authorities arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, a sitting state judge, on charges of obstruction of an official proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent discovery and arrest. According to a criminal complaint filed by the Department of Justice, Judge Dugan intervened during a routine misdemeanor hearing for Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican national facing battery charges.
After the hearing, Dugan allegedly instructed court officers to fetch her supervising judge’s card and then personally escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney through a restricted jury entrance—bypassing the public exit where ICE agents, along with officers from the FBI, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), were waiting to effect his arrest on an outstanding deportation order. Flores-Ruiz was accused of re-entering the United States illegally after having previously been deported, and ICE claimed he had already received due-process review by an immigration judge.
Dugan now faces federal felony charges that could carry substantial prison terms if she is convicted. Her arrest—which reportedly involved multiple law enforcement agencies converging on the courthouse—has shaken the Wisconsin legal community and prompted urgent debate over the proper relationship between state courts and federal immigration enforcement efforts.
Within 48 hours of Dugan’s arrest, Judge Monica Isham of Sawyer County circulated a landmark email to all Wisconsin circuit court judges, asserting that she would refuse to hold any court in her branch unless the state Supreme Court or the Department of Administration issued explicit guidance on handling ICE’s presence in state courthouses.
Key excerpts from Isham’s email include:
“If there is no guidance for us and no support for us, I will refuse to hold court in Branch 2 in Sawyer County. I will not put myself or my staff—who may feel compelled to help me or my community—in harm’s way.”
“I have no intention of allowing anyone to be taken out of my courtroom by ICE and sent to a concentration camp, especially without due process, as BOTH of the constitutions we swore to support require.”
“Should I start raising bail money? If this
