Parents and their advocates say the immigration arrest of Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a day care teacher at Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center, has shattered their sense of safety, and they’re demanding answers.
Protesters gathered Thursday for a news conference organized by SEIU Healthcare Illinois, outside Reliance Relocation Services, 161 N. Clark Street, a real estate company that was awarded $7.8 million over five contracts in 2024 to relocate employees with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The group called for transparency from the federal government and an end to immigration operations at child care centers and higher education institutions.
Maria Guzman, whose two daughters attend the learning center, is still processing what happened. Guzman said she has known Santillana Galeano for five years. She rushed to the day care center Wednesday morning after getting a call from the director.
“They’re like family to me,” she said. “The safety of our teachers, the safety of the community in general and, obviously, of our children. ”
Guzman said she stayed at the center throughout the day, helping with translation and emotional support.
“It has destroyed us. It’s not just a matter of bringing our kids back, we need to keep activating to ensure that this doesn’t keep happening,” she said. “This isn’t an overnight response.”
Also speaking out about the arrest were child care workers with SEIU Healthcare Illinois, immigration advocates from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and state Rep. Lilian Jiménez. The federal action endangered children and disrupted a trusted child care setting, they said.
Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, known as “Ms. Diana” to parents and children, was arrested Wednesday morning outside Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center at 2550 W. Addison St., despite telling an agent that she had documentation.
She can be heard saying, “Yo tengo papeles” (“I have papers”) in video taken near the scene of her arrest.
Santillana Galeano, of Colombia, had stepped out of the passenger seat of a car when she was approached by agents in tactical gear, and she ran inside the day care center. The agents followed her inside before forcing her outside and putting her into another vehicle, 47th Ward Ald. Matt Martin told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Children were inside the day care center when armed agents went in without a warrant, looked through rooms and questioned staff for documentation despite being asked to leave.
Santillana Galeano had a work permit when she was taken into custody. As of Thursday, she remains in custody at the ICE processing facility in Broadview.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said it is not targeting schools or day care centers, and that Santillana Galeano’s work authorization “was approved by the Biden administration which exploited this loophole to help facilitate the invasion of our country.”
A representative with the Colombian Consulate visited the facility Thursday morning to speak with Santillana Galeano but was turned away. In a statement sent to the Sun-Times, a representative for the consulate said it is “working to provide consular assistance” but could not offer specific details.
Parents of children at the day care center organized a GoFundMe fundraiser to help Santillana Galeano pay for legal fees and to support her two children. The page had raised more than $97,000 as of Thursday afternoon.