Prosecution of Wisconsin judge underscores Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement

The arrest of a Wisconsin state judge for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest has opened a new front in the Trump administration’s aggressive attempt to carry out a historic deportation campaign.

The arrest of a Wisconsin state judge for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest has opened a new front in the Trump administration’s aggressive attempt to carry out a historic deportation campaign. The decision by the Justice Department to charge Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan for obstruction and concealing the individual from arrest turned a spotlight on the administration’s decision to exercise immigration enforcement in certain places that have in the past been mostly off-limits to such federal activity, including courthouses, schools and places of worship. Her arrest Friday morning immediately drew intense criticism from legal experts and Democratic lawmakers, who widely viewed it as the Trump administration’s latest bid to strong-arm courts around the country as it pushes ahead with controversial immigration policies. “Pure intimidation – nothing more than that,” said retired federal Judge Nancy Gertner. The Justice Department has repeatedly asserted that it will investigate any local officials who do not assist federal authorities on immigration matters. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump revived a policy from his first term that allows federal officials to make immigration-related arrests in courts. But as in so-called sanctuary cities around the US, court officials are not obligated to work with federal officials in such arrests if the warrant being executed is an administrative warrant and not a judicial one.