OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — About two dozen protesters rallied Wednesday for Wendy Mendez, a wife and mother of two, who was arrested by ICE earlier this October.
Neighbors tell Oshkosh neighborhood reporter Hayden Bailey that Mendez was once honored as teacher of the year at Vel Phillips. They say she has three master's degrees and was working toward a fourth in youth counseling.
"There's a lot of us here today," Grace Woldt said. "And we're all pissed off."
For those rallying here, the message is simple: They want Mendez released, and they want more people in the community to speak out.
"It's not fair to the kids. It's not fair to nobody," Woldt said, "I don't think that's right, that they should be able to come in here and take teachers and kids and anybody they think they can take."
ICE says Mendez entered the U.S. legally from Costa Rica in 2020 on a temporary basis. However, they say she didn't leave before her visa expired, and a judge then ordered her removal last month after she failed to appear for a hearing.
But neighbors tell me she missed it because a summons for a regular court hearing was sent to an old address and was never forwarded to Mendez.
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Danny Schierl is the leader of Peaceful Patriots, the group organizing the protests. He says they'll be protesting for the foreseeable future.
"So right now, the plan is - this is day number two - that indeed, we will be out here indefinitely," Schierl said. "This call to action specifically, obviously, is about Wendy Mendez. So that's our main thing is to spread awareness."
Fliers promoting the protest direct people to "show up and let the public know ICE cannot unlawfully detain our community members."
"Justice for Wendy," Schierl said. "Plain and simple."
In addition to the protests, there's also a candlelight vigil planned to honor those impacted. It's being held at Opera House Square this Friday at 6 o'clock. Fliers say that candles will be provided.
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