ICE is deporting crime survivors Congress has long protected; multi-state lawsuit challenges policy

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Nearly eight months ago, Yessenia Ruano self-deported from the U.S. along with her husband and their 10-year-old twin girls who are U.S. Citizens.

"Honestly, it's been a difficult process," Ruano told Eyewitness News from El Salvador.

The mother and former Milwaukee public school teacher's aide said she and her family were forced to make the decision after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement threatened to deport her during a check-in. Ruano is a plaintiff in what is now a class-action lawsuit against Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of noncitizen survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and other serious crimes, who like Ruano are pursuing lawful immigration status, and who for decades, congress has shielded from deportation. However, people in these groups are being arrested, detained, and deported, according to attorneys.

"We started seeing with the massive deportation raids and enforcement actions that they no longer respected deferred action or pending petitions that these survivors had been granted," said Sarah Kahn, senior staff attorney at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. The organization filed the lawsuit alongside Public Counsel, La Raza Centro Legal, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.

The protections the groups are defending have been granted through the U-Visa, the Violence Against Women Act, and the T-Visa for survivors of human trafficking, which Ruano had a pending application for.

"It's also about protecting the person after they come forward, so that they don't have to be afraid to speak to an agency that could help them or to speak to the police," said Kahn.

The lawsuit points to new guidance issued by ICE in 2025, which cites an executive order by President Donald Trump. The guidance rescinds policies that generally required its officers to refrain from targeting people in these groups, barring exceptional circumstances.

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Ruano got choked up, telling Eyewitness News that an ICE officer told her she would have to leave the U.S. in a mocking and hateful manner.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it won't comment on the federal lawsuit. While the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in part, "We are deeply concerned that fear related to immigration enforcement may discourage individuals from reporting crimes or cooperating with local law enforcement, creating a possible chilling effect that undermines public safety."

During a recent court hearing, DHS argued that even if applicants are deported, their applications could still be processed, and they may return but provided no answers when asked if that happens.

Meantime, those challenging these ICE practices stressed applicants must be present in the U.S. to be eligible for a T-Visa, while the process for a U-Visa for example, can take more than 15 years. "The harm is very extreme in either case," said Kahn.

"My hope is that our voices are heard and that people know that these legal pathways exist that are being assaulted and trampled on," Ruano said. Federal district judge for the Central District of California, André Birotte Jr. is expected to rule on whether to order DHS to stop these practices as the case challenging their legality proceeds. The suit also seeks that those already deported can return to the U.S. and see their applications through.