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CHICAGO (WLS) — A day care center on the North Side remained shut on Thursday, leaving parents in a lurch as they sought alternative child care solutions.
Concerns were heightened following the arrest of a teacher by ICE agents at the facility on Wednesday.
The teacher, who hails from Colombia, is reportedly detained at the ICE Broadview facility, prompting protesters to gather there on Thursday.
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According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Diana Santillana Galeano, a Colombian national, was apprehended on charges related to human trafficking. The department’s statement accuses her of paying traffickers to bring two teenage children into the United States.
To many in Chicago, she is simply known as Ms. Diana, a beloved preschool teacher dedicated to nurturing their young ones.
The Colombian Consul General in Chicago and a parent of a child at the day care came to the Broadview ICE facility Thursday.
“When we talked to the Illinois state troopers. They told us they won’t let us see her,” Rayito de Sol parent Paula Gean said. “They won’t let us check to see if she is okay. Does she need any medical treatment?”
Some Chicagoans came to Broadview to protest her detention.
“It is wrong she was taken it’s wrong that our children are living in fear the only violence and terror we are experiencing is from the governments right now,” Chicago parent Maria Moser said.
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“I had this outrage and for this to hit close to my community and people I know and children I know it takes it to another level,” a Chicago parent named Emily said.
Galeano was taken into custody Wednesday at her workplace, Rayito de Sol Spanish immersion day care and preschool in North Center. Some staff, children and parents witnessed the arrest, according to witnesses.
DHS reports Galeano and a man driving her car refused to stop and then fled into the daycare barricading themselves inside.
Some who witnessed the incident and viewed video at the daycare refute that claim instead alleging armed ICE agents went room to room inside the daycare.
Some day care workers and union members rallying in support of Galeano in the Loop on Thursday.
Galeano is pictured on a GoFundMe page that’s raised tens of thousands of dollars for her.
Late Thursday, parents of the day care posted signs supporting Galeano’s return.
“She takes care of our babies if women and people who take care of our babies can’t be protected who is safe,” Rayito de Sol parent Laura Tober said.
A Department of Homeland Security statement read, “ICE law enforcement did NOT target a Daycare. Officers attempted to conduct a targeted traffic stop of this female illegal alien from Colombia. Officers attempted to pull over this vehicle, which was registered to a female illegal alien, with sirens and emergency lights, but the male driver refused to pull the vehicle over. 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. Facts including criminality and information on the male assailant are forthcoming and we will update the public with more information as soon as it becomes available.”
