$150K Donated To Daycare Teacher Dragged Screaming By ICE From Chicago Workplace

CHICAGO — Community members have donated more than $150,000 in a matter of days to support a Chicago daycare teacher who was dragged screaming from her place of work by federal agents.

Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano was being held in a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement facility in Indiana as of Friday, according to WTTW, which reported her lawyers had petitioned to seek her release.

The 38-year-old fled Colombia in 2023 amid threats to her safety, was cleared to work in the U.S. through late 2029 and filed for asylum, WTTW reported, adding she has no criminal history.

Parents affiliated with the Rayito de Sol daycare, where she was arrested, planned to gather outside the Dirksen federal courthouse in Chicago for her court date on Thursday.

She was able to retain her legal representation due to money contributed to a GoFundMe created to support her cause, according to the fundraiser.

“She has children of her own and we are raising money to support any legal fees that may arise from this situation, costs to help her get back on her feet once she's released, covering this time while she out of work and support for her children,” the GoFundMe said.

In addition to the fundraising efforts, a Change.org petition calling for her release had over 30,000 signatures as of Monday.

Santillana Galeano was taken into custody on Wednesday after officers tried to stop her vehicle, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin has said. The male driver did not comply with officers’ sirens and lights, instead fleeing into the daycare with Santillana Galeano, where they tried to barricade themselves, according to McLaughlin.

The department has denied Santillana Galeano’s release on the grounds that noncitizens who enter the country without inspection face mandatory detention, a policy newly issued earlier this year, WTTW reported. The department also argued that her work authorization does not constitute legal status and that she paid for smugglers to bring her two teen children to the U.S., according to WTTW.

The first stage of proceedings to remove her is scheduled for later in the month with the Cleveland Immigration Court, WTTW reported.