“I have papers,” a child care worker shouted in Spanish at Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during an arrest Wednesday morning at a Spanish immersion day care in Chicago.
Video capturing a portion of the arrest — which reportedly took place in front of children — shows two ICE agents aggressively detaining the worker inside Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Learning Center on Chicago’s North Side at about 7 a.m. The agents pull her outside the center and push her against a gray sedan while she shouts. Then one of the agents heads back inside.
According to local news reports , an SUV of federal agents followed the teacher’s car to the day car and ran inside the building after her.
CBS News Chicago confirmed with the director of the center that the worker detained was a pre-K teacher.
It’s unclear whether ICE had a warrant, which is required for agents to enter a day care.
In recent weeks, ICE enforcement in Chicago has ramped up, with multiple violent arrests taking place across the city, as well as clashes between protesters and agents.
Nationwide, 1 in 5 child care workers are immigrants, most of them Latinas. In Chicago, it’s 1 in 4 . Increased ICE enforcement has created significant fear for workers, some of whom have stopped showing up to work for fear of getting caught in a raid.
As of this year, child care centers are also no longer off limits for ICE raids. The centers were previously protected under a “sensitive locations” directive that advised ICE to not conduct enforcement in places like schools and day cares. But President Donald Trump removed that protection on his first day in office .
Reports of raids near day cares have been rare — especially inside a center — but increasing in frequency in recent months.
As of this year, child care centers are also no longer off limits for ICE raids. The centers were previously protected under a “sensitive locations” directive that advised ICE to not conduct enforcement in places like schools and day cares. But President Donald Trump removed that protection on his first day in office .
Following widespread backlash over the arrest of a Chicago day care teacher this week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday released a statement alleging the teacher had illegally crossed the southern border in 2023 and last month, paid a smuggler to cross her teenage children over as well.
In the statement, DHS said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, of Colombia, in a traffic stop as she and an unidentified male passenger were driving early Wednesday. It said she illegally entered the U.S. on June 26, 2023 and “was encountered by Border Patrol,” and that “the Biden administration released her into the U.S.”
However, questions remain whether the woman had been targeted prior to the traffic stop. School officials said the Santillana had authorization to work in the day care and had undergone a background check. DHS did not respond to questions beyond its statement, which said Santillana and the male driver were in a vehicle registered to a “female illegal alien.”
In the widely circulated video of Santillana’s arrest at Rayito de Sol, an early learning center and Spanish immersion school in North Center, agents can be seen pulling the screaming Santillana from the school vestibule. She is heard saying, “I have papers,” in Spanish as agents pin her against the officers’ car.
The confrontation was reported in news outlets around the globe as agents in President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz — his immigration crackdown in Chicago — took the unprecedented step of entering the school.
But DHS argued that, “Work authorization does NOT confer any type of legal status to be in the U.S. The illegal alien’s work authorization was approved by the Biden administration which exploited this loophole to help facilitate the invasion of our country.”
Santillana’s attorney Naiara Testai, filed a habeas corpus case Wednesday and said Santillana is expected to have a court hearing next week. Testai declined to give more details on the case. The Colombian Consulate said they were aware of the situation and were working to provide assistance.
The years surrounding 2023 — when DHS said that Santillana crossed over — saw record numbers of people trekking from South America to the United States, which prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to send migrants on bus and train to Chicago and other immigration-friendly U.S. interior cities as a political stunt to draw attention to strained resources in border cities.
At a news conference Thursday, Maria Guzman, a parent of a child at Rayito, said: “It’s something that is out of a terror movie. I could not sleep last night thinking about the safety of my children. This is deeply, deeply personal.”
Although parents said they did not have information on her immigration status, they continued their unwavering support of the teacher, who they called “Miss Diana.”
“Our experience with her has been absolutely amazing,” said Sara Nepomuceno, 29, whose 5-month-old daughter has been attending Santillana’s class for around two months. “I’m a first-time mom,” she said and “going back to work can be a really hard experience but Diana made it so easy.”
The arrest took place about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, just after the school opened, officials, witnesses and school staff said. The agents had followed Santillana and the man into the school parking lot, 2550 W. Addison St., near Lane Tech College Prep High School.
School staff told the Tribune that the agents went into the school without presenting a warrant before pulling her outside. Elected officials say video footage from inside the school shows the agents inside.
“They went inside the day care center, questioned and took someone to her locker room to prove she had papers. We saw them run in and out,” U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Democrat, said Wednesday following the arrest.
No matter how many laws the foreigners break, no matter how lies they are told, the open borders left will always demand the foriegn law breaker remains
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
News reports indicate that the day care children were screaming and crying as their caretaker was dragged away.
U.S. Representative Mike Quigley is having a press conference this afternoon to comment on the incident.
They don't care if they traumatize little kids
Thought that was their objective courtesy ole Russel Voght
I know what I'd like to do to ol Russel
but Trump had never heard of project 2025....
ABC7 Chicago is reporting there was no warrant shown.
I have no doubt there wasn't a warrant
What's a "warrant"?
Are there no limits to the cruelty?
For fascists, cruelty is an essential part of keeping lesser beings in their proper (lesser) positions.
Latinos voted massively for Dems yesterday, after helping elect Trump.
I wonder why the change... 🥴
Buyer's remorse is a bitch.
Was she illegal? then they should also arrest the owners.
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I'll take the word of the Chicago Tribune over the pieces of shit that run ICE.
The lady was a teacher at the day care.
And Michael Brown had his hands up.
A major newspaper is more credible than anyone in the Trump administration, its that fucking simple.
No matter how many laws the foreigners break, no matter how lies they are told, the open borders left will always demand the foriegn law breaker remains