MPS teacher's aide no longer has to self-deport today while ICE reviews her stay
MILWAUKEE (CBS58) -- A Milwaukee Public Schools teacher's aide no longer has to self-deport on Tuesday, June 3.
Yessenia Ruano had been ordered last Friday by immigration officials to leave the country. Ruano has been in the United States for 14 years and has a visa under review as a human trafficking victim.
Her immigration attorney, Marc Christopher, tells us, "ICE is reviewing the stay," meaning that authorities are considering their request for Ruano to stay in the country while her case is pending.
There is no timeline as to when the decision from immigration officials could come; it could be hours or weeks. Christopher says they will abide by whatever decision ICE makes.
At Tuesday's Milwaukee Common Council meeting, a 14-minute moment of silence was held after the meeting adjourned. Each minute represents a year Yessenia Ruano has called the United States and Milwaukee home. "As a working mother and victim of human trafficking, Yesenia is a person who makes Milwaukee a better place.... We cannot stand by while families are being torn apart in the city, and we won’t," said Milwaukee District 8's Alderperson JoCasta Zamarripa.
Members of the common council unanimously stood behind a picture of Ruano and her twin daughters, calling for due process. Common Council president José Pérez shared, "the show of solidarity we saw today is a commitment that we want to fix this broken immigration system, this process that you have a teacher's aide working with our family and kids, it’s exactly the person we want to support, who wants to be counted, who doesn't want to live in the shadows... She reflects what’s all good in Milwaukee."
Ruano says she fled El Salvador in 2011 because of violence and gangs, as a victim of human trafficking. She applied for a trafficking victims' visa, otherwise known as a T-visa. Typically, that would be reviewed in two to four months, but nowadays, it's taking three to four years.
Christopher says "it is important to note that filing a stay of removal does not prevent ICE from carrying out a deportation order while the request is under review, and no specific timeframe is guaranteed for a decision."
We'll bring you the latest on air and online as we learn more.