FBI chief says judge arrested for shielding undocumented immigrant
A top US judge has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly shielding an illegal migrant, as mass deportation tensions escalate, and the President and First Lady arrive in Rome. Follow updates.
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FBI Director Kash Patel said a US judge was arrested for helping an undocumented migrant evade federal agents, escalating a growing struggle between the White House and courts over President Donald Trump’s hard line deportation policies.
Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, allegedly “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject” who they were intending to detain at her courthouse, Mr Patel said in a post on X, which he later deleted.
“The FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction - after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” Patel said in his post.
The migrant was arrested shortly afterwards.
“Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Mr Patel said.
The Trump-appointed FBI director deleted his post minutes after it appeared.
Charging documents described an incident at Judge Dugan’s courthouse during which the judge was “visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor” when federal agents came to arrest the migrant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz from Mexico, who was facing misdemeanor charges.
The complaint alleges Ms Dugan escorted Mr Flores-Ruiz out of the courtroom through a door used by jury members in order to keep him from the agents.
Dugan, who was elected to the bench in 2016, appeared in court before a judge in the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, where she made no public comments.
A number of federal and state judges across the United States have issued rulings that put several of President Trump’s executive actions on hold, particularly related to his bid to exercise unprecedented powers in deporting migrants.
The Trump administration has been butting heads with federal judges, rights groups and Democrats who say he has trampled or ignored constitutionally enshrined rights in rushing to deport migrants, sometimes without the right to a hearing.
Meanwhile, President Trump has arrived in Rome with first lady Melania Trump where they will attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
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TRUMP WILL ‘LEAD THE PACK’ ON IRAN WAR IF NO NUKE DEAL
President Trump said the United States will “lead the pack” in attacking Iran if talks over Tehran’s nuclear program do not result in a new deal, according to a Time Magazine interview.
The US president - in the interview published Friday, local time - nonetheless expressed hope that such a deal could be reached, while also saying he was open to meeting Iran’s supreme leader or president face-to-face.
“It’s possible we’ll have to attack because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Mr Trump told Time.
The renewed threat comes as Washington and Tehran continue talks over the clerical state’s nuclear program, with a third round slated for Saturday in Oman.
Mr Trump, asked by Time about reports he had blocked Israel from conducting a unilateral attack against Iran, replied: “I didn’t stop them. But I didn’t make it comfortable for them, because I think we can make a deal without the attack,” he said.
“Ultimately I was going to leave that choice to them, but I said I would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped.”
Mr Trump denied that he was worried about Mr Netanyahu dragging the United States into war with Iran, saying: “He may go into a war. But we’re not getting dragged in.”
However, Mr Trump added he “may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal.”
“If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack,” Mr Trump told Time.
WALL STREET RALLY FALTERS AS TRUMP TOUTS TARIFF VICTORY
Wall Street stock markets wobbled Friday after President Trump indicated he envisages stiff US tariffs even after reaching trade deals.
The pullback came after a three-day rally based in large part on hopes that the United States would reach trade deals with its major partners.
Time Magazine wrote that Mr Trump said in an interview he was still convinced tariffs were necessary and that he would “consider it a ‘total victory’ if the US still has tariffs as high as 50 per cent on foreign imports a year from now.”
City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada called the comments “an aggressive reminder that underscores his protectionist trade agenda, even if he has promised to reduce tariffs on Beijing significantly”.
He added that the comments “probably caused the mild selling” trend. While the Trump administration has gone forward with 145-percent tariffs on most goods from China, it suspended high tariffs on other countries for three months as it pursues trade deals.
FOREIGN STUDENTS GIVE UP AMERICAN DREAM OVER TRUMP CRACKDOWN
After President Trump’s administration revoked hundreds of student visas and threatened deportation for participants of pro-Palestinian campus protests, international students told AFP they were reconsidering their dreams of earning degrees in the United States.
Mr Trump has launched a crackdown on higher education in recent weeks, accusing universities including Columbia and Harvard of allowing anti-Semitism on their campuses.
In response more than 130 international students across the United States have joined a federal lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully cancelling their visas, jeopardising their legal status in the country.
But others have been deterred from stepping foot in America in the first place. German Tariq Kandil turned down an opportunity to spend six months on exchange at the University of California, Davis, fearing he would be targeted by the US government for his social media posts criticising Mr Trump and speaking about Palestine.
“I didn’t want to have to censor myself just to be able to enter the country,” the 21-year-old told AFP.
“The United States is supposed to be the country of free speech.”
Kandil said he was “afraid of being arrested when entering or leaving the country and finding myself in detention awaiting deportation.”
He was also worried his name would attract undue scrutiny.
“Tariq Kandil isn’t a typical name when you come from Europe.”
More than 1.1 million international students attended college or university in the United States during the 2023/24 academic year, a record figure, according to a report published by the State Department’s educational bureau and the Institute of International Education.
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