Statement on the self-deportation of Yessenia Ruano
From members of the Common Council: President José G. Pérez, Alderperson JoCasta Zamarripa, Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, Alderwoman Andrea Pratt, Alderman Mark Chambers, Jr., Alderman Alex Brower, Alderman Robert Bauman, Alderman Lamont Westmoreland, Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Alderman DiAndre Jackson, Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, Alderwoman Sharlen P. Moore, Alderman Peter Burgelis, Alderman Scott Spiker, and Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II
June 17, 2025
Earlier today, Mrs. Yessenia Ruano, the teacher’s aide who is a hard-working, contributing member of our community, self-deported to El Salvador with her daughters after ICE denied her request to remain in the U.S. while her visa application was pending.
This is a sad day, and the implications of this decision should concern us all. ICE officials noted to Mrs. Ruano and her lawyer that she “did not warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.”
She is a mother, a wife, an educator, a volunteer, an integral part of our community with no criminal record or other issues to speak of, and someone who came to this country with the goal of fleeing from violence and seeking a better life. Frankly, if Yessenia doesn’t deserve favorable discretion, who does?
All factors being considered, it seems immoral that this family is being uprooted from America. A place that she risked life and limb to come to…a place she thought she’d be safe. Families like Mrs. Ruano’s are exactly who we should want to support and uplift. Immigrants contribute a great deal to the social and economic fabric of our community, and they should be afforded the same opportunities and due process as everyone else. She invested in her community and the community invested in her…what a shame that it’s come to this.
We hope to see Yessenia’s visa application approved, and her and her daughters back in Milwaukee where they belong.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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