An Oshkosh middle school teacher has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed that on Oct. 14, ICE arrested Wendy Mendez, a Spanish teacher at the Vel Phillips Middle School in Oshkosh. 

The spokesperson said that Mendez entered the United States in August 2020 “on a temporary basis, but in violation of our laws, failed to depart by Feb. 9, 2021.” The statement continues that on Feb. 18, 2026, Mendez was “placed into removal proceedings, and on Sept. 9, was ordered removed by an immigration judge for failing to show up for her removal proceedings. She received due process and will remain in custody pending her removal from the United States.” 

DHS did not clarify the type of visa or permit which Mendez may have had during her time in the United States. Although President Donald Trump campaigned on sending ICE to apprehend “the worst of the worst,” Mendez appears to be the latest example of someone who does not fit that description. A check of online court records showed that the only thing linked to Mendez were divorce proceedings, suggesting that she has no criminal record. 

Reports about Mendez’s detention first emerged on social media.  Facebook posts by someone who said she is a friend of Mendez’s  described Mendez as a woman of Afro-Caribbean descent who was raised in Costa Rica, and who moved to Oshkosh six years ago with her husband and two sons. The posts claim that one of her sons has Down syndrome and doesn’t understand why his mother is missing. The post states that Mendez had no knowledge of her deportation proceedings because notices from the court were sent to an old address. The post claims that while in detention, Mendez was placed in solitary confinement and made to sleep on concrete floors and mold-covered beds. According to the post, Mendez was deported after being moved among multiple detention facilities in different states without having the opportunity to appear before an immigration judge.

Mendez’s story was first reported by the independent University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student newspaper, the Advance-Titan. 

A spokesperson for Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights group that runs a statewide network to verify ICE activity, told the Examiner that the group had not received any information about the case.

The Facebook posts mention details about Mendez that later appeared in official statements from DHS and the school district. However, the original poster has not responded to Wisconsin Examiner’s requests for comment. 

In an emailed statement, the Oshkosh Area School District confirmed that Mendez “is an employee in good standing who has been placed on an unpaid leave of absence due to unforeseen circumstances.” A district spokesperson added that “at no point was this a school safety or performance-related issue. Our primary focus remains on supporting our students and staff and keeping learning moving forward in our classrooms.”

On Monday, the district sent a letter to the families of students about Mendez, saying that although it normally follows privacy laws regarding employee matters, “this situation has become public and is felt across the community. We are sharing this update directly to address her absence, reduce uncertainty, and outline the support available.” The letter reiterates that Mendez has been placed on unpaid leave due to “unforeseen circumstances,” and that she was in good standing with the district. “The district is working through the process of obtaining more details and will provide more information if we are able.”

The letter explains that students in Mendez’s class were informed of her absence last Tuesday. “We know this situation brings heartbreak, frustration, and worry for many in our community,” the letter states. “Additionally, whenever a sudden absence occurs, it naturally brings up questions or concerns for students. Our primary responsibility is to ensure every student feels safe, supported, and grounded.” 

School counselors and support staff are being made available to listen to students, and help them process what’s happening. 

Mendez was named employee of the year last year by the Oshkosh Area School District. A video posted to the district’s YouTube page showed a surprised Mendez receiving a balloon and coffee thermos as her students applauded. 

“We are keeping Mrs. Mendez and her loved ones in our thoughts during this difficult time,” the letter states. “If you feel your child needs additional support during the day, please contact our Vel Phillips Middle School counseling office directly.” The letter is signed by Oshkosh Area School District Superintendent Dr. Bryan Davis, and Vel Phillips Middle School Principal Amanda Patza. 

Oshkosh is situated in Winnebago County, where the sheriff’s office is part of the 287(g) program which deputizes local law enforcement to participate in immigration enforcement and detention. Since last January, ICE has reported 25 arrests in Winnebago County, almost all of which originated from the jail, Wisconsin Watch reported.

In September during a town hall meeting, Sheriff John Matz said that his office’s participation in 287(g) “needs to continue.” Matz said, however, that he isn’t interested in street enforcement or in renting jail beds to ICE. This year, voters will decide whether to support Matz or his Democratic opponent Jason Ripple, a patrol officer. Ripple told Wisconsin Watch that he would void the 287(g) program, stating that the program “may be an open door for additional involvement with (ICE)…and I think that by any modern law enforcement standards, we’ve seen pretty clearly that their tactics are sloppy.”

Update: This story was updated with a response from DHS on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m.

Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) traveled to Leavenworth, Kansas, on Wednesday to visit an immigration detention facility where two Milwaukee women are being held, interview them and check on their welfare. Reyna Elizabeth Garcia and Estenderly Marte Polanco were both arrested during a surge of arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in early July. 

Their arrests were described as excessive and violent by advocates from Voces de la Frontera, who monitored the surge and who joined Moore on the Kansas visit. Moore said that the Leavenworth ICE facility currently holds 450 people but  is designed to hold more than 1,000. She said she saw signs of rapid expansion. Moore fears that the facility will quickly fill up with more people. “They are building so they can fill this thing up with twice as many detainees,” she said. 

Garcia and Polanco told Moore that they are being treated as human beings, Moore said. Detainees are allowed to leave their cells and be in a common area during the day, and the facility has plans for an area where detainees will be able to exercise and get access to sunlight. Moore observed various meals being prepared including kosher and vegetarian options, indicating that the facility is making an attempt to meet dietary needs, although  the food appeared to be  of  low quality. 

Most of the people held at Leavenworth are not criminals, Moore said. Still, she said, “it is a very depressive setting, it is definitely a prison, and they are aggressively building.”

Officials at the facility denied any medical neglect, Moore said, and the detention center has  doctors on call, but no full-time medical staff within the facility itself. 

“We had some hard questions for the ICE officials,” Moore said. “We were very curious to see where the murders and rapists were, and they were unable to show us that.” 

Garcia was arrested in late May along with her brother and fiance after ICE agents in unmarked vehicles followed them as they were leaving  a local grocery store in Milwaukee. Her fiance, Galo Suárez, was later released and told by ICE agents to walk away and to not look back or else he’d face consequences, he said during a Voces press conference after the arrest. Polanco was arrested the same weekend while driving with her 11-year-old son, who was in the back seat when ICE agents pulled her out of her car. During the arrest, agents split Polanco’s lip, threw her to the ground, and at one point placed her in a position where she couldn’t breathe, she said. In both arrests, agents were described by witnesses as mocking and insulting the people they were arresting. 

After her visit, Moore described Garcia as extremely depressed. Polanco checks on her, Moore said, adding that Polanco has a strong faith in the power of prayer and uses this to help lift Garcia’s spirits.

While Garcia’s fiance was released the same day he was arrested, Moore said that the family later learned that her brother had been deported. Polanco said that she told the agents that she was scared about what  would happen to her child, who was born prematurely. He remains  traumatized after witnessing her arrest, Moore said, and blames himself for his mother’s detention. 

Garcia told Moore that she left Nicaragua because “the politics put me in danger,” only to find herself in a similar situation in the U.S. 

Moore criticized the historic level of funding for ICE in recent budgets — more than $120 billion — and said her Democratic colleagues worked together to stop further allocations in the most recent budget reconciliation bill.  At Leavenworth, she said, she wondered where all the money was going. “I was looking for the sauna,” she joked. The privately run facility is operated by CoreCivic, which sold the facility to the federal government for $238.4 million — about $300,000 per bed. Moore said it is comparable to other prisons that don’t bring in  nearly as much money. 

In response to questions from the Examiner about Moore’s visit, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security called Moore’s criticisms of the facility “baseless and false.” 

“If she doesn’t like our country’s immigration laws, she should focus on changing them–not political theater,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“Individuals in ICE detention continue to have access to on-site medical care, community emergency transport services, emergency room care, hospital admissions, and off-site specialty care,” the spokesperson added. 

“The men and women of ICE are entrusted with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct,” the spokesperson wrote. “They are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and our officers. Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training.”