Chicago day care teacher detained by ICE agents as parents were dropping off their children
By Whitney Wild, CNN
(CNN) — The arrest by federal agents of a day care teacher inside a child care center in northwest Chicago has drawn strong condemnation from local leaders.
Two ICE agents flanked the teacher Wednesday inside Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center and then forced her outside through the doors with her arms behind her back.
“This morning ICE agents followed a teacher into the facility without a warrant and abducted her in front of her students,” Rep. Mike Quigley said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, adding the incident showed a “complete lack of humanity.”
The day care teacher’s arrest marks the latest action by federal immigration authorities to draw condemnation in the Chicago area, which has seen a series of aggressive tactics since the Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Midway Blitz” at the beginning of September as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide enforcement agenda.
The arrest happened “during the busiest time of drop-off where kids and families have to witness a teacher being forcibly removed and agents kitted up in tactical gear,” Chris Widen, whose 4-month-old son is taught by the woman, told the Associated Press.
“These are the nicest, kindest people. They don’t deserve, these children don’t deserve to be living through this,” Esmeralda Rosales, whose child attends the daycare, told the AP.
Rayito de Sol, which translates to Little Ray of Sunshine, offers services for infants through pre-kindergarten-aged children, with several locations throughout the Chicago and Minneapolis areas, according to the company’s website.
CNN has reached out to a representative for the teacher.
Quigley, a Democrat, said the teacher, identified by DHS, as Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, was a trusted and beloved member of the community, insisting she has a work permit.
A DHS spokesperson disputed the narrative that Galeano was chased inside the day care center.
“Officers attempted to conduct a targeted traffic stop of this female illegal alien from Colombia,” Tricia McLaughlin wrote in In a long post on X.
Officers attempted to pull over a vehicle registered to Galeano with sirens and emergency lights, “but the male driver refused to pull the vehicle over,” the post continued.
“Law enforcement pursued the vehicle before the assailant sped into a shopping plaza where he and the female passenger fled the vehicle. They ran into a daycare and attempted to barricade themselves inside the daycare—recklessly endangering the children inside.”
“The illegal alien female was arrested inside a vestibule, not in the school. Upon arrest, she lied about her identity. The vehicle is registered to in her name, though she claims that she didn’t know the man who was driving her car and just picked him up from a bus stop,” McLaughlin added.
Galeano entered the US illegally after crossing the southern border in 2023, DHS said in a separate statement, noting having a work authorization “does NOT confer any type of legal status to be in the US.”
Maria Guzman, a day care representative and parent at Rayito de Sol, called the arrest an act of “domestic terrorism.”
“This is horrific. They have crossed a line,” Guzman said.
Rep. Delia Ramirez said she talked to teachers who were hiding inside the day care center, worried they were going to die.
“What happened today is despicable,” Ramirez said during the news conference.
Ramirez, a Democrat, is a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and said she will work with her colleagues to launch a federal review of the arrest.
“We need to make sure that people understand that these businesses have rights and we are going to do everything we can to help them uphold those rights. Those agents not just rushed in, they went into other rooms,” Ramirez said.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
