The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who faces federal charges for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade ICE. Dugan is accused of obstruction and concealing a person from law enforcement, charges that carry the possibility of hefty fines and prison time.

The center Square reports:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a Milwaukee judge facing two federal charges for allegedly trying to help a man illegally in the country escape from immigration officials.

The order, released late Tuesday, said Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan faces two federal charges – one a felony and one a misdemeanor – and it is in the public interest to relieve her of her duties temporarily.

“The court is charged in the Wisconsin Constitution with exercising superintending and administrative authority of the courts of this state. In the exercise of that constitutional authority and in order to uphold the public’s confidence in the courts of this state during the pendency of the criminal proceeding against Judge Dugan, we conclude, on our own motion, that it is in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties,” the order reads.

Dugan is charged with obstruction of a federal proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent discovery or arrest. The obstruction charge could result in up to a $100,000 fine and a year in prison, while the second concealment charge can result in up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The defendant is accused of concealing Eduardo Flores Ruiz, who was previously deported and came back to the U.S., where he was facing charges in Milwaukee of domestic battery and abuse.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Lindsay Schloemer wrote in the complaint against Dugan that law enforcement often makes arrests at the courthouse because “not only the fact that law enforcement knows the location at which the wanted individual should be located but also the fact that the wanted individual would have entered through a security checkpoint and thus unarmed, minimizing the risk of injury to law enforcement, the public, and the wanted individual.”

Dugan is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on the federal criminal charges on May 15/

California lawmakers are weighing a controversial bill that would raise the felony threshold for welfare fraud from $950 to $25,000. Critics warn the move would effectively decriminalize large-scale fraud, potentially draining resources from programs meant to support the state’s most vulnerable. Supporters argue that prosecuting recipients for overpayments—often due to bureaucratic errors—is unjust and can have devastating consequences for low-income families. The bill is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Center Square reports:

California legislators are seeking to raise the felony threshold for welfare fraud from $950 to $25,000, which one lawmaker says would effectively “legalize welfare fraud.”

Senate Bill 560, sponsored by state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, would raise the existing $950 threshold to $25,000 for felony charges for welfare obtained and retained fraudulently. The bill would also prohibit a person from being additionally charged with perjury based solely on a statement made to a county welfare department, if they are subject to prosecution for overpayment or overissuance pursuant to these provisions.”

Each case would also have to be “reviewed by a “qualified caseworker” before “administrative penalties” are applied.

Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, says the proposed bill would not only “legalize welfare fraud,” but would also undermine the key programs relied upon by vulnerable Californians.

“Democrat politicians are advancing legislation to legalize welfare fraud in California,” said DeMaio in a statement. “SB 560 by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas illustrates exactly what’s wrong with California: Democrats yet again jeopardize the solvency of programs designed to support the most vulnerable in California in order to protect and reward those who break our laws and game the system.”

In support of the bill, the Western Center on Law and Poverty says that prosecution for overpayments is unfair to families and could come with immigration consequences.

“When overpayments are referred to the criminal system, families can be torn apart for something as simple as a paperwork error,” wrote WCLP. “The head of household, most often a woman of color, can face serious immigration consequences, loss of employment, loss of housing, and even loss of child custody.”

However, the California District Attorneys Association suggests that SB 560 would, by eliminating state criminal penalties for fraud under $25,000, shift that authority to the federal government, including federal immigration officials, thereby undermining the bill’s intended purpose.

“Because welfare fraud includes fraud in federally funded programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), eliminating California’s authority to investigate and prosecute attempted welfare fraud and welfare fraud under $25,000, this bill threatens to shift investigative responsibility to federal agencies including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” wrote CDDA in its opposition to the bill, which included similar concerns to DeMaio’s.

SB 650 has passed its two committees and is set for a hearing from the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 5.