‘Yo tengo papeles’: Teacher detained by immigration agents in North Center day care

Federal immigration agents entered a North Center day care and arrested a teacher Wednesday before searching each of the rooms without a warrant, a local alderperson said.

Video captured two agents pulling the woman out of Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center at 2550 W. Addison St. around 7 a.m.

The woman, known as “Ms. Diana” to parents and children, is heard in the recording telling an agent that she has documentation, but she was still detained. “Yo tengo papeles,” she says in the video.

Ms. Diana had been stepping out of the passenger seat of a car when she was approached by agents and she ran inside the daycare center. The agents followed her inside before forcing her outside and putting her into another vehicle, according to Ald. Matt Martin (47th).

Martin arrived to the center around 8 a.m. and was told by other teachers that armed agents entered the center without a warrant. He said one agent stepped inside and looked through all of the rooms despite being asked by staff to leave.

Martin said children were inside the day care center at the time of the arrest.

“It’s important to understand that day care centers and schools are precious spaces across our city,” said Martin. “They educate and nurture our children. What ICE did today was shatter that sense of safety that educators and parents at Rayito del Sol have worked to create.”

Martin said other teachers tried to show agents proof of Ms. Diana’s documentation, but she was still taken away. The teacher’s family was notified of the arrest and they were put in contact with an immigration attorney, he added.

Ms. Diana is currently being held at the ICE processing facility in Broadview.

In a post on X, U.S. Department of Homeland spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said immigration officers did not target a daycare, but had “attempted to conduct a targeted traffic stop” of a female undocumented immigrant before the vehicle sped into the shopping plaza.

“They ran into a daycare and attempted to barricade themselves inside the daycare—recklessly endangering the children inside,” McLaughlin wrote.

U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez said McLaughlin was lying at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Ramirez said she watched the security footage from inside the day care center that showed agents going inside multiple rooms, while children were present, and questioned staff for documentation.

“The woman that they’re referring to in the statement is a teacher at Rayito de Sol,” said Ramirez. “That is who they targeted. She was on her way to work. That is how she was targeted.”

The center closed for the day as the arrest left shock among parents and fear among teachers.

Sarah Wirth, a parent whose son goes to the daycare center, said the center focuses on teaching kids Spanish and most teachers are South American and must have documentation to work there.

Wirth wasn’t present at the time of the arrest, but said she watched videos and felt “helpless.”

“You would think if someone has papers, they would want to see that, and there might be a peaceful resolution,” she said. “But instead, you see this woman who takes care of children for a living getting ripped out of her workplace.”

Maria Guzman, whose 1-year-old daughter attends the day care center, said she was “horrified” that one of her daughter’s teachers was arrested.

“As a mother I can’t believe that now I have to be worried about sending my kids to a place where they should be safe,” she said.”I can’t believe that the place that I’ve entrusted my children with and their care is now a place of fear. Teachers are fearful and they cannot fathom being there safely.”

The grandmother of a 4-year-old girl who attends the day care center said she was appalled to see the video of Ms. Diana being dragged out of the center by two agents in tactical gear.

“This is crazy. These folks are hard-working people taking care of and educating children. This is a private business. It was entered illegally and without a warrant,” she told the Sun-Times.

The grandmother, who lives in Champaign but has been at the day care center previously, said she was so upset she fired off a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and visited her downstate congresswoman’s office Wednesday morning to complain.

She said it was “awful” to see the video and think of the trauma to the children who would have witnessed it.

A spokesperson for the learning center did not immediately return calls for comment.

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

At a rally Wednesday evening at Northcenter Town Square, elected officials voiced frustration with immigration enforcement in the city. Ald. Matt Martin (47th) said the parents from the school had arranged legal representation for Ms. Diana, though they were unsure where she had been taken.

“If ever you feel despair in the coming days, look around you,” Martin said. “There were four [federal agents], but there are hundreds of us. ”

State Sen. Mike Simmons called on the Illinois Congressional delegation to defund ICE.

“There cannot be a reformist mindset for this agency,” Simmons said. “We need to call for the abolition of ICE.”

Contributing: Stephanie Zimmermann