WASHINGTON - A US federal grand jury on May 13 indicted a Wisconsin judge on charges of concealing a person from immigration agents, after she was taken into custody and accused of helping an undocumented migrant avoid arrest.

US President Donald Trump has delivered on campaign promises to conduct a sweeping crackdown on undocumented migrants since coming to power in January, and has clashed with several courts which have argued he has not followed due process.

Hannah Dugan, a 66-year-old Milwaukee County circuit judge, was arrested in April and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on an obstruction charge, if convicted, in a case that has sparked a national uproar.

Dugan is accused of helping a Mexican national escape her courtroom after she learnt that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, among other federal officials, were seeking to detain the man in the hallway.

Dugan’s arrest set off a torrent of criticism from Democrats and applause from some Republicans.

US Attorney-General Pam Bondi defended Dugan’s arrest, issuing a chilling warning to those who may harbour illegal migrants: “We will find you.”

“We’re sending a very strong message today,” Ms Bondi told Fox News at the time.

Charging documents described the incident at Dugan’s courthouse in April during which the judge was “visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanour” when federal agents came to arrest the migrant – named as Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 30, who was facing misdemeanour charges.

The complaint alleges Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz out of the courtroom through a door used by jury members in order to keep him from the agents.

Flores-Ruiz made it outside the building, but was arrested while attempting to flee from law enforcement officers, the criminal complaint in the case says.

A number of federal and state judges across the United States have issued rulings that put several of Mr Trump’s executive actions on hold, particularly those 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 a hearing.

Dugan, who was elected to the bench in 2016, is expected to plead not guilty at the next hearing, which is scheduled for May 15.

“Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and loo...