Milwaukee Teacher’s Aide Granted More Time to Process Visa, Avoids Deportation for Now

MILWAUKEE, Wis – (WAUK) — Yessenia Ruano, a Milwaukee teacher’s aide, has been granted more time to process her paperwork, averting a potential deportation.

Ruano says she fled gang violence in El Salvador in 2011 and was trafficked into the U.S. She had been facing deportation despite having an ongoing visa application and is a mother of two daughters that are U.S. citizens.

On Friday, a crowd of supporters and immigration advocates gathered outside the ICE offices in downtown Milwaukee before Ruano’s meeting with immigration officials.

Voces de la Frontera, a local advocacy group, had been calling for an extension of her temporary status, highlighting her role as an essential worker and her contributions to the community.

The controversy comes amid an effort from the White House to crack down on what they call illegal immigration.