A Mexican migrant, who allegedly received assistance from a Wisconsin judge to avoid arrest by immigration authorities earlier this year, has been deported, officials announced on Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, aged 31, was returned to Mexico on Thursday. Flores-Ruiz has an extensive criminal record, including charges of strangulation, suffocation, battery, and domestic abuse.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the case, stating, “Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a previously removed illegal alien, has a laundry list of violent criminal charges. Judge Hannah Dugan’s actions to obstruct this violent criminal’s arrest elevate the concept of an activist judge to a whole new level.”

In a statement acknowledging the enforcement actions taken, McLaughlin added, “Thanks to the courageous efforts of our ICE law enforcement officers, this individual is no longer within our borders. If you are here illegally and engage in criminal activity, we will find you, apprehend you, and ensure your removal from our country. That is our commitment.”

The case has drawn significant attention, highlighting the ongoing tensions between immigration enforcement and judicial actions perceived as interventionist. It underscores the complexities at the intersection of law enforcement, immigration policy, and judicial discretion.

Flores-Ruiz, who was previously deported from the United States in 2013, made headlines in April when he was arrested after a pre-trial hearing before Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan.

Dugan was also arrested for allegedly hiding Flores-Ruiz in her jury room to prevent his arrest as ICE agents attempted to take him into custody at the courthouse. 

Dugan is accused of knowingly helping Ruiz exit a courtroom through a back door that was not accessible to the public in an effort for him to evade ICE authorities. She also allegedly told officers in her court that they needed a warrant to make the arrest. 

The surveillance footage released by Milwaukee County appears to show Judge Hannah Dugan, wearing her black robes, confronting ICE agents in the courthouse hallway. (Milwaukee County)

At the time of the incident, Flores-Ruiz’s alleged victims were in the courtroom with state prosecutors when Dugan helped him escape immigration arrest, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said. 

She was arrested and charged with obstruction and has pleaded not guilty. 

In May, the judge filed a motion to dismiss the charges against her, saying she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and therefore is immune to prosecution. She argued that the federal government violated Wisconsin’s sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge.

Flores-Ruiz entered the U.S. illegally in 2013 through Nogales, Arizona before he was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol. It was not known when he re-entered the country.

Last week, a judge sentenced him to time served for the immigration violation. 

Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, was deported to his native Mexico following months in detention after a Milwaukee judge allegedly tried helping him evade arrest by immigration authorities.  (Getty Images; Department of Homeland Security)

“I very much hope you can find a way to make a living back home rather than coming back here,” U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper told him during his sentencing.