Walk In Support of ALBA Teacher Yessenia Ruano

Yessenia Ruano, an MTEA member and ALBA paraprofessional, is being forced to leave the country. She’s a survivor of human trafficking who fled El Salvador where her brother was brutally murdered by gangs and her own life was threatened. She has spent the last 14 years in this country and built a life with her husband and her two Milwaukee-born daughters in addition to being an integral part of the ALBA family. We’re constantly told ICE is only targeting those who are “threats to public safety” and “dangerous criminals” yet Yessenia is none of these and is facing removal. She was trafficked has no record and has checked in with ICE 17 times and worn a GPS monitor and despite her being a model resident with no criminal record she is being forced by Trump to leave this country.

Hello, MTEA members!

As a community, MTEA teachers have planned to walk in support of Ms. Ruano, her girls, and all families experiencing this fear and uncertainty. On Tuesday, June 10th, we will meet up at 2:25 PM at the soccer field across from ALBA School. Our goal is to show support and bring more awareness to Ms. Ruano’s story. To show our city and our nation that we stand by her and support all those who came to the United States to find refuge and raise a family free from chaos and corruption. We will peacefully walk in a loop around 32nd & 35th from 2:30 – 3:30 PM. 

Please join us, and feel free to invite your loved ones. Our MTEA family, School Board Directors, and Voces de la Frontera have been and will be invited to join us. In addition, we invited community police officers in our district to make sure that all participants are safe and that everything goes as orderly as anticipated.

Support this GoFundMe campaign for Yessenia.

Classroom Teachers, below are some activities you can do with your classrooms next week if you so choose. You know your students best, and know what activity or activities are best for them and you.

Activity Ideas:

Teach about the journey of migrants and immigrants. 

• Immigrants of Milwaukee
• Interview family members about their journeys
  • Create questions as a whole to ask their parents, grandparents, or guardians
  • Create a poster or drawing about their family’s journey
  • Create a poster that represents pride in their American culture and/or heritage
  • Create posters in support of Ms. Ruano and our Latino Community
  • Create inspirational posters about what our Latino Community and others contribute to our American society
• Resources for lessons:
  • https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/?_theme=immigration
  • https://www.facinghistory.org/ideas-week/8-resources-teaching-immigration
  • Videos
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo-aHleRBRo
    • For older students (trigger warning applies):https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/documentaries-us-border-immigration-policies-kids/
    • Milwaukee’s Black Migrant Families
    • Kids discuss Immigration (English – 2:53)
    • International Migration (English – 7:37) It is important to teach our students that we are NOT the only country affected by migration
    • The Story of a Filipino Girl (animated – English – 3:46)
    • Students’ Immigration Stories (teens – English – 3:57)
    • La huella latina en Estados Unidos (Univision Noticias – 7:21)

Order on Amazon:
T-Shirt – If you would like to order a shirt in support of immigrants