A Morning in Chicago - When a Daycare Becomes a Crime Scene

Chicago - It was just after seven in the morning. Children were laughing as they ran through the glass doors of the Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center, a bilingual preschool in the northern part of the city, when suddenly black SUVs rolled onto the parking lot. Seconds later, a woman, Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano - a teacher - ran from a vehicle toward the entrance. Behind her were men wearing bulletproof vests with large white letters reading: POLICE ICE. Before she could close the door behind her, she was detained - between two glass walls, in full view of the children.

The woman shouted that she had papers, that she was here legally. But the officers did not let her go. They led her away as parents dropping off their children watched in shock. It was a moment that will likely burn itself into the collective memory of this city - not only because it happened in front of a preschool, but because it stands as a symbol of what the Trump administration currently defines as "law enforcement." The incident occurred as part of "Operation Midway Blitz," one of the most aggressive deportation campaigns in years. Since early September, more than 3,000 people have been arrested in the Chicago area. Helicopter operations, nighttime raids, tear gas at protests - even by American standards, the harshness of these actions is unusual. And now: a preschool.

Democratic city council member Matt Martin confirmed that several witnesses consistently reported the woman had been arrested directly in front of the children. "She was held in the entryway while explaining that she had valid papers," Martin said. In footage now circulating on social media, at least one officer can be seen wearing a vest marked ICE as the teacher is taken away. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tried to justify the incident. Tricia McLaughlin, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, wrote on X: "ICE did not target a daycare facility. Officers were attempting to stop a vehicle belonging to an illegal immigrant from Colombia. The driver refused to stop." But the official account contradicts what witnesses saw on site. According to several parents and independent reports, the officers entered the building without a search warrant, walked through multiple rooms, and questioned staff while children were present. ICE trägt, während die Lehrerin abgeführt wird. Das Heimatschutzministerium (DHS) versuchte den Vorgang zu rechtfertigen. Tricia McLaughlin, stellvertretende Ministerin für Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, schrieb auf X: „ICE hat keine Kindertagesstätte ins Visier genommen. Die Beamten wollten ein Fahrzeug stoppen, das einer illegalen Einwanderin aus Kolumbien gehörte. Der Fahrer weigerte sich, anzuhalten.“ Doch die offizielle Darstellung steht im Widerspruch zu den Beobachtungen vor Ort. Laut mehreren Eltern und Recherchen, betraten die Beamten das Gebäude ohne Durchsuchungsbefehl, gingen durch mehrere Räume und befragten Mitarbeitende, während Kinder anwesend waren.

"They didn’t just follow one person - they went into multiple classrooms while kids were there," said Democratic Congresswoman Delia Ramirez. Her colleague Mike Quigley added that the woman had a valid work permit. Rayito de Sol, which operates eight facilities in Illinois and Minnesota, remained closed on Wednesday.

Outside the building, wedged between dental offices in a small strip mall, parents gathered - stunned, angry, helpless. Maria Guzman and her husband Sergio Rocha held each other in their arms. "Our community is under attack every day," she said. "This woman taught little children. These children do not deserve to see this. No one does." Esmeralda Rosales, whose nine-month-old baby is cared for there, rushed back from work. "These are the kindest, warmest people you can imagine," she said. "These children should be laughing, playing, learning - not watching their teacher taken away by armed men."

Chris Widen, whose four-month-old baby was also cared for by the arrested teacher, called it a "devastating moment." "The officers came exactly at rush hour - when parents and children were arriving. The kids had to watch their teacher being taken away by force." Adam Gonzalez, who was just dropping off his child, started filming. "I wanted the world to see what’s happening here - that this is real, not fake," he said. "In Chicago, you might be just one or two blocks away from someone who’s already gone through something like this."

Maria Guzman and Sergio Rocha, parents of young children, stood crying in each other’s arms outside the Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center after federal agents took away the teacher, Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, from the facility on November 5, 2025.

At the end of that morning, what remained was an empty classroom, traumatized children, and a neighborhood asking itself what had become of the promise to offer protection, not fear. Chief Border Patrol officer Gregory Bovino, one of the architects behind the new deportation strategy, defended the action despite growing criticism. "I never thought it would get this bad - but it’s worse than I imagined," he said in an interview earlier this week. He called his agents "Sanctuary Busters" - a cynical reference to cities like Chicago that see themselves as sanctuaries for migrants. Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano now has legal representation, and everything possible is being done to help her. We hope she will be released in the coming hours.

But what happened in Chicago that morning was not a political concept. It was a scene from the everyday life of a government that has made the state of emergency its new normal. A woman, a preschool, a glass door - and a nation slowly getting used to the idea that even the unimaginable has become part of daily life.