A friend who had been in contact with Wendy Mendez told Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Joe Schulz on Oct. 27 that she had been deported to Costa Rica the previous week. ICE arrested Mendez in Milwaukee on Oct. 14, 2026, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The accounts conflict. DHS said Mendez would remain in custody pending removal from the United States.
Mendez worked at Vel Phillips Middle School in the Oshkosh Area School District. The Oshkosh Teacher was named an Employee of the Year for the 2024-25 school year.
Her detention followed a dispute over notice of an immigration hearing. Her friend Deb Nez said the hearing notice went to an address the family had left years earlier. DHS said an immigration judge ordered Mendez removed after she failed to appear.
DHS says an immigration judge ordered Mendez removed after she missed a hearing
DHS said Mendez entered the United States legally on a temporary basis on August 10, 2020, and did not leave by February 9, 2021, the date the department said her permission expired.
The department said Mendez was placed in removal proceedings on February 18, 2026. An immigration judge ordered her removed on September 9 after she did not attend the proceedings, DHS said.
DHS also said Mendez had received due process. Its statement said she would remain in custody while the government carried out her removal. The reported deportation came afterward.
Nez offered a different account of why Mendez missed the hearing. She said an address update had not prevented a notice from going to the family's former home.
Nez says the hearing notice went to an old address and lawyers challenged it
Nez wrote on Facebook that the hearing notice was sent to the family's previous address, which she described as being “from more that 3 years ago.” She said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had the family's new address within days of their move.
“This was not the first time that USCIS had made that mistake,” Nez wrote on Oct. 22. She said Mendez's lawyers had submitted proof of the notification error and that the court had accepted their motion. Nez said the next step was for a judge to review it and decide.
Nez also described Mendez's transfers between facilities. “She has been in 6 detention centers in 8 days. Wisconsin-Chicago-Kentucky-Louisiana-Texas. She has barely slept during this time,” she wrote. She said Mendez had been made to sleep on concrete floors.
Nez said an attorney told her a stay of removal was in place. She also wrote that Mendez had been told she was being sent out of the country, though the lawyer told Nez that was not true.
Nez said Mendez moved to the area six years ago with her husband and two sons. She described herself as Mendez's friend.
School leaders arranged student support and placed Mendez on unpaid leave
Superintendent Dr. Bryan Davis and Vel Phillips Middle School Principal Amanda Patza wrote to families on Oct. 26 that Mendez would be “out of the classroom for the foreseeable future.” They said she was an employee in good standing and had been placed on unpaid leave because of unforeseen circumstances.
The school leaders said the leave was not related to school safety or Mendez's performance. They offered counseling, classroom coverage and help at home for students who needed support. The district was also preparing a long-term plan to keep daily instruction going.
The district identified Mendez as a Spanish teacher. Other accounts described her as a teaching assistant in the English Speakers of Other Languages program. The district recognized her during the 2024-25 school year for her work “as an interpreter.”
A district video posted in April 2025 shows Davis entering Mendez's classroom to give her the award. He hands her a balloon and a large mug; Mendez becomes emotional. The school leaders said counselors and support staff were available, and the district described the situation as bringing “heartbreak, frustration, and worry.”
ICE defended its departure policy as school families described the effects
ICE said “being in detention is a choice” and said the government was offering “$3,000 and a free flight to self-deport.” The agency urged people to use the CBP Home App, and warned that those arrested and deported would leave “without a chance to return.”
Mushe Subulwa, a Vel Phillips parent, said his son initially thought Mendez was out sick. He said the boy had worried about a teacher he loved during her absence.
“When their teacher who they love is not in class, they are concerned.”
Subulwa said his son had been concerned for “the last nine days or so.” He said students were affected by not knowing why their teacher was missing.
Molly Smiltneek, an Oshkosh School Board member and local immigration attorney and advocate, called Mendez “a very respected role model” who had worked her way up in the district and was beloved by colleagues and students.
In a statement Monday night, Smiltneek said: “This is not normal. This is not a personnel issue. This is not a political issue. This is a human issue.”
Advocates scheduled “A Vigil for the Missing” for Oct. 30, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Oshkosh Opera House Square. Organizers described it as a peaceful place for people to process together.
Subulwa said the gathering was for Mendez, his friends and students. “We're going to come together and cry together,” he said.
