MILWAUKEE — Yessenia Ruano, the bilingual Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) teacher’s aide who has been fighting for her temporary status to be extended, has formally asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delay her deportation.
Ruano came to the U.S. in 2011, escaping gang violence in El Salvador and was considered an asylum seeker. She has a pending T-Visa application, meant for trafficking victims, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS).
Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., noted that she does not have a “significant criminal record” in a letter to ICE advocating for Ruano. Moore said she is not a public safety risk nor a flight risk.
Ruano is a mother to two daughters who are U.S. citizens and holds a valid work authorization.
ICE ordered her to self deport.
On Monday, Ruano submitted a formal Request for Stay of Removal to ICE. This request asks ICE to delay her deportation until a decision is made on her T-Visa application, her legal team at Christopher & DeLeon explained.
Her legal team said she had been waiting on confirmation of receipt of that application for nearly two months.
“That confirmation arrived only days before her most recent check-in with ICE on May 30, 2025,” her legal team said in a statement. “In light of this receipt, ICE is now formally reviewing her stay request.”
Her deportation order, originally scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, has been stayed, pending approval.
Her attorneys said filing a stay of removal does not prevent ICE from executing deportation orders, nor is there a timeline as to when a decision could be made.
"Ms. Ruano is overwhelmed with gratitude for the compassion and support so many have shown," her legal team said. "She has survived unimaginable trauma and still found the strength to give so much to her community, especially to the many area students whose lives she's touched. All we ask is that she be allowed to stay — at least until her T-Visa is decided — so she is not sent back into the very danger she fled."
“The U.S. government should not be forcing a beloved mother, teacher, and community member to self-deport without regard to her contributions and how this deportation can endanger her life and that of her family. Instead of investigating cartels, why is our government prioritizing targeting the victims? These policies do not make our communities safer or help us build a more thriving and healthier society for all,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera.
The full statement from her legal team is below:
Aly Prouty - Digital Media Producer
Aly Prouty is a digital producer for Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin, Ohio and Kentucky. An award-winning, multimedia journalist, she holds an honors B.A. in journalism from Marquette University and an M.A. in journalism and media studies from The University of Alabama.
