Judge rules mandatory detention of Chicago day care teacher by ICE is illegal

Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune on Nov 12, 2025

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CHICAGO — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the U.S. government’s mandatory detention of Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, the day care teacher arrested at a Chicago preschool, is illegal and she must be given a bond hearing.

According to the ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Daniel, Santillana will be given a bond hearing in front of an immigration judge, who could order her released while her civil deportation case proceeds. Her hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

“The Court has recognized that Diana and scores of others like her should not be in custody indefinitely. This is an important step on Diana’s path to returning home where she belongs,” said attorney Charlie Wysong, who along with attorney Naiara Testai, represents Santillana.

Santillana’s case has generated widespread backlash. In a video circulated online, federal agents are seen pulling the screaming woman, a mother of two from Colombia, through the glass vestibule at the Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center in North Center, in the early morning hours of Nov. 5.

She is heard saying, “I have papers,” in Spanish as agents pin her against the officers’ car.

School officials said the woman, who cares for infants, had authorization to work in the day care and had undergone a background check. An agent did not present a warrant when he entered the building, the school’s staff said.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted her in a traffic stop as she and an unidentified male passenger were driving early Wednesday. It said she illegally entered the U.S. on June 26, 2023, and “was encountered by Border Patrol,” and that “the Biden administration released her into the U.S.”

However, questions remain whether the woman had been targeted prior to the traffic stop.

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—Chicago Tribune’s Jason Meisner contributed.

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