Release Beloved Oshkosh Teacher Wendy Mendez and Reopen Her Immigration Case
The Issue
Wendy Mendez teaches Spanish at Vel Phillips Middle School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In 2025, the Oshkosh Area School District named her employee of the year, and a district video shows her students clapping as she was surprised with a balloon and a coffee thermos. On Oct. 14, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested her. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says she will stay in custody until she is removed from the country.
According to DHS, Mendez arrived in 2020 on a temporary basis and stayed past her departure date. In September, an immigration judge ordered her removed because she did not show up to her hearing. A friend has posted online that the court notices went to an old address, which would mean Mendez may never have known the hearing was scheduled. Online court records show no criminal history.
The school district called Mendez “an employee in good standing,” according to the Wisconsin Examiner, and said her absence has nothing to do with safety or job performance. Friends say she moved to Oshkosh about six years ago with her husband and two sons. Now her students have lost a teacher overnight, and school counselors are helping them cope.
Missing a hearing is not the same as dodging the law, especially when a person may not have received notice. ICE’s Chicago Field Office, which oversees Wisconsin, can release Mendez while her case is reviewed. DHS attorneys can agree to reopen her removal order so a judge can hear her side. Members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation can press both agencies to act.
Sign the petition to ask ICE and DHS to release Wendy Mendez and reopen her case before she is sent away from the family and students who count on her.
Image: Screenshot | Oshkosh Area School District YouTube video
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The Issue
Wendy Mendez teaches Spanish at Vel Phillips Middle School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In 2025, the Oshkosh Area School District named her employee of the year, and a district video shows her students clapping as she was surprised with a balloon and a coffee thermos. On Oct. 14, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested her. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says she will stay in custody until she is removed from the country.
According to DHS, Mendez arrived in 2020 on a temporary basis and stayed past her departure date. In September, an immigration judge ordered her removed because she did not show up to her hearing. A friend has posted online that the court notices went to an old address, which would mean Mendez may never have known the hearing was scheduled. Online court records show no criminal history.
The school district called Mendez “an employee in good standing,” according to the Wisconsin Examiner, and said her absence has nothing to do with safety or job performance. Friends say she moved to Oshkosh about six years ago with her husband and two sons. Now her students have lost a teacher overnight, and school counselors are helping them cope.
Missing a hearing is not the same as dodging the law, especially when a person may not have received notice. ICE’s Chicago Field Office, which oversees Wisconsin, can release Mendez while her case is reviewed. DHS attorneys can agree to reopen her removal order so a judge can hear her side. Members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation can press both agencies to act.
Sign the petition to ask ICE and DHS to release Wendy Mendez and reopen her case before she is sent away from the family and students who count on her.
Image: Screenshot | Oshkosh Area School District YouTube video
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Petition created on November 2, 2026