Judge Orders Former Milwaukee Teacher’s Aide Allowed Back In U.S.

Yessenia Ruano gestures toward her heart after learning she’ll have more time to work on application for legal status before being deported. Scores of protestors turned out to support Ruano on Friday, Feb. 14 before he appointment at the Milwaukee field office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Courtesy of Voces de la Frontera

A federal judge says Yessenia Ruano, a former Milwaukee teacher’s aide, must be allowed to return to the U.S.

That temporary order came in response to an ongoing federal lawsuit, which accuses the Trump administration of illegally deporting crime victims.

In June 2025, Ruano self-deported to her native El Salvador. That’s after immigration officials denied her request to stay in the country while her application for a T-visa was still pending.

That type of visa is available to victims of human trafficking, who agree to cooperate with law enforcement by helping officials investigate and prosecute traffickers.

Last fall, Ruano joined a lawsuit, alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had been breaking federal laws and violating the due process rights of immigrants.

In his order last week, California-based U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. said the federal government must allow Ruano and two other plaintiffs in the case to return to the U.S.

Now, Ruano is in the process of preparing for that return, said Sarah Kahn, an attorney with the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. That nonprofit is among the advocacy groups that brought the case.

“Counsel for both sides are going to figure out the logistics,” Kahn said. “Nothing can undo the trauma and the damage that has been done, but she will be able to come back to the country. She’ll be able to resume her life. Her children will be able to go back to school to be with their friends.”

At the time the lawsuit was filed, Ruano was 38, and her twin daughters were 10 years old. Both of the girls are U.S. citizens, since they were born in this country.

But Ruano chose to take them back to El Salvador, because she feared having her daughters separated from her.

Ruano crossed the southern border into the U.S. in 2011. The lawsuit says she was fleeing gang violence and feared for her life in El Salvador. After making the crossing, Ruano fell victim to human trafficking, according to the suit.

Before she self-deported, Ruano was working as a teacher’s aide at Academia de Lenguaje y Bellas Artes, a bilingual public school in Milwaukee.

Lawsuit accuses ICE of implementing illegal ‘blind removal’ policy

The lawsuit points to 2025 guidance from ICE, and says federal officials have used that guidance to implement what amounts to “blind removal” and “de facto revocation.”

According to the lawsuit, federal officials have been automatically moving to deport some immigrants, despite federal laws that are meant to shield certain crime victims from detention and deportation.

That includes some survivors of domestic violence, people with pending T-visa applications and people in the process of requesting U-visas, which are available to some victims of serious crimes, according to the lawsuit.

In his most recent order, Birotte ordered federal officials to halt the practice of automatically deporting some alleged crime victims without first considering their applications to remain in the country.

Birotte also allowed the case to move forward with class action status.

Even though Birotte has temporarily barred officials from trying to deport Ruano, it’s not yet clear what the final outcome of her case would be. Nonetheless, under the judge’s order, immigration officials will have to at least consider Ruano’s T-visa application before trying to deport her.

“Once she returns home, it’s very clear from the order that the government has an obligation to review her petition,” Kahn said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security criticized Birotte, but indicated the agency would follow the recent order. DHS oversees ICE and UCIS.

“DHS complies with all court orders, even as radical NGOs shop for the most favorable forum and activist judges seek to thwart our operations,” the statement said. “As our record in the U.S. Supreme Court demonstrates, the law is on our side.”

The statement continued, “Enforcing immigration law is not optional and is essential to protecting America’s national security, public safety, and economic strength. Operations are conducted lawfully within the authority granted to immigration officers under Title 8. Every removal of an illegal alien helps restore order and reinforce the rule of law.”

Judge: Former Milwaukee teacher’s aide must be allowed to return to US was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.