Crime & Law
Attorneys Seek Release of Day Care Teacher Detained by Federal Agents, Moved to Indiana ICE Facility
Background: Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center, 2550 W. Addison St., is pictured in a file photo on Nov. 5, 2025. (WTTW News) Foreground: Photo of Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a Rayito de Sol teacher who was detained by federal immigration agents on Nov. 5, 2025. (Courtesy of Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd.)
Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, the teacher who was detained by federal immigration agents earlier this week at a North Center preschool and whose arrest was caught on video and widely shared online, has been moved to an ICE facility in Indiana, her attorney said Friday.
Attorneys filed an updated petition Thursday seeking the release of Santillana Galeano, who, at the time, was being held at the ICE processing center in Broadview. Santillana Galeano was moved to an ICE facility in Clark County, Indiana, according to attorney Charlie Wysong.
“Ms. Santillana belongs at home and with the Rayito de Sol community, where she is a beloved and respected member,” Wysong said in a statement Friday. “Our daycare centers and other schools must be safe places where our children are protected from harm.”
A video of Santillana Galeano’s arrest, which occurred around 7 a.m. Wednesday, shows two agents detaining Santillana Galeano at her workplace inside Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center, 2550 W. Addison St. Santillana Galeano can be heard saying that she has papers.
Santillana Galeano has a work permit that allows her to work legally in the U.S., according to Wysong, one of her attorneys. Santillana Galeano is being represented by attorneys Wysong and Naiara Testai at the Chicago-based law firm Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd.
Santillana Galeano is expected to have a hearing next week in federal court, where attorneys say they will seek a bond hearing to swiftly seek her release from detention.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has denied Santillana Galeano’s release from ICE custody in accordance with policy issued by DHS in July that noncitizens who enter the U.S. without inspection are subject to mandatory detention, according to the filing.
Attorneys argue Santillana Galeano is being unlawfully detained in the updated habeas corpus petition filed Thursday. According to the filing, Santillana Galeano, 38, fled Colombia in March 2023 due to threats to her safety and entered the U.S. without inspection. Her attorneys claim that DHS released her without bond or conditions. Santillana Galeano filed for asylum and was granted employment authorization through Nov. 12, 2029, according to the filing.
Santillana Galeano has no criminal history based on the information available, according to the filing.
U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez speaks during a news conference on Nov. 5, 2025, following the detainment of a Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center teacher by federal immigration officials. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
In a statement issued Wednesday, DHS argued work authorization does not grant legal status to be in the U.S. “The illegal alien’s work authorization was approved by the Biden administration which exploited this loophole to help facilitate the invasion of our country,” the statement said.
According to the DHS statement, Santillana Galeano was encountered by Border Patrol on June 26, 2023, after illegally crossing the southern border. The department also claims she reportedly paid for smugglers last month to illegally bring her 17-year-old and 16-year-old children into the U.S.
Following Santillana Galeano’s detainment Wednesday, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X that officers were conducting a “targeted traffic stop” of a “female illegal alien from Colombia” and a male driver refused to pull over. McLaughlin claims law enforcement pursued the vehicle into a shopping plaza where he and a female passenger fled the vehicle and then attempted to barricade themselves inside the day care.
In response to McLaughlin’s statement, U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez accused DHS of lying “over and over.” She spoke during a news conference Wednesday, when local elected officials and parents at Rayito de Sol called for Santillana Galeano’s immediate release.
“The woman that they’re referring to in the statement is a teacher at Rayito de Sol — that is who they targeted,” Ramirez said. “She was on her way to work — that is how she was targeted.”
The Colombian Consulate said in a statement Friday it is aware of the situation and is working to provide assistance.
Community members have started a petition demanding the release of Santillana Galeano, who students at Rayito de Sol refer to as Ms. Diana, and a GoFundMe to go toward legal fees related to her case. As of Friday afternoon, the fundraiser has received more than $133,000 in donations.
Santillana Galeano is scheduled for a master calendar hearing, the first stage of removal proceedings, before the Cleveland Immigration Court later this month, according to the petition filed by her attorneys.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
