Help Yessenia Ruano Rebuild After Forced Deportation

After her brother was brutally murdered by gangs, Yessenia Ruano fled the violence in El Salvador, only to be trafficked into the United States. Over the last 14 years, she has worked tirelessly to rebuild her life — becoming a devoted public school educator, a loving mother to two U.S. citizen children, and a respected member of her Milwaukee community.

Yessenia, known as Ms. Ruano to her beloved students and colleagues, has spent the past 8 years working at Milwaukee Public Schools. Her daughters have grown up in the same school where she teaches, surrounded by a supportive community that has become family.

Yessenia is also an active member of Voces de la Frontera, a local immigrant rights organization, using her story to raise awareness about the injustices caused by our broken immigration system. Despite being eligible for legal relief and potential U.S. citizenship through a T-Visa due to her trafficking experience, she has faced overwhelming obstacles.

Now, Yessenia has been ordered to self-deport to El Salvador — a move that will force her to temporarily separate from her children, end the current life she’s built, and return to a country that remains dangerous for her.

We ask for the community's financial support to help Yessenia cover emergency relocation costs, secure safe housing, support her daughters during this painful separation, and begin again — safely and with dignity.

Please help us support a mother, educator, and community leader who has given so much — and now needs her community to stand beside her. Any amount helps, and every donation brings her one step closer to rebuilding a new life.