Armed federal immigration agents barged into a Chicago preschool in an early morning raid and hauled away a teacher as children looked on, shocked witnesses said.
Video shows two officers wrestling a woman, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Diana Santillana Galeano, at the Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center, as she shouted, “Tengo papeles,” or “I have papers.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which said agents detained Galeano in the “vestibule” of the building after a failed traffic stop, has been accused of “lying” about what really happened Wednesday.
The department’s senior spokeswoman, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, insisted officers “attempted to conduct a targeted traffic stop” and that Galeano and a driver “ran into a daycare and attempted to barricade themselves,” adding that the woman “lied about her identity.”
McLaughlin said Galeano was an undocumented immigrant.
A local alderman said agents combed through classrooms in the daycare without a warrant while kids and staff were inside, according to The Washington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times.
Witnesses and staff also said agents entered deeper into the school and questioned adults, contradicting DHS’ account.
“No child should ever be terrorized in their school,” Rep. Mike Quigley was quoted as saying by the Post.
Alderman Matt Martin said agents looked through rooms despite staff asking them to leave. He added that school officials had tried to show agents that the teacher had a work permit.
“What ICE did today was shatter that sense of safety that educators and parents at Rayito del Sol have worked to create,” he said.
Parents and teachers also disputed the version put out by McLaughlin, who has developed a reputation for making misleading public statements about immigration operations.
“I walked into a room of crying kids, crying parents, and crying teachers,” said a parent-attorney quoted by the Post.
Rep. Delia Ramirez said McLaughlin was “lying” and that internal footage would show agents in multiple classrooms while children were present.
The school closed for the day amid shock and fear. By evening, parents and officials rallied in Northcenter Town Square, demanding the teacher’s release and federal restraint.
The Post noted that the arrest appears to be one of the first on school grounds since the Trump administration in January scrapped prior “sensitive locations” limits that had shielded schools, hospitals, and churches from such enforcement.
DHS says it does not plan to “raid” schools. One grandmother told the Sun-Times, “This is a private business. It was entered illegally and without a warrant.”
A spokesperson for DHS repeated its earlier statement to the Daily Beast saying claims that ICE had targeted a daycare were “inaccurate and false.”
DHS also alleged that Galeano had paid smugglers to bring her two minors across the border last month.
The post Armed ICE Goons Detain Teacher Inside Chicago Daycare Center appeared first on The Daily Beast.
