Chicago Daycare Teacher Released From ICE Detention: Lawyer

CHICAGO — A daycare teacher who was taken from her place of work last week by federal immigration agents has been released. Lawyers for Diana Santillana Galeano said the 38-year-old was released from ICE detention in Clay County, Indiana on Wednesday night.

The move came on the same day a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide a bond hearing for Galeano, who was dragged screaming on Nov. 5 from the Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center in Chicago's North Center neighborhood. Judge Jeremy C. Daniel ruled her without a hearing is unlawful, as it's a violation of her right to due process. The ruling stated a bond hearing needed to be held on or before Nov. 18.

"I am so grateful to everyone who has advocated on my behalf, and on behalf of the countless others who have experienced similar trauma over recent months in the Chicago area," Santillana Galeano said. "I love our community and the children I teach, and I can’t wait to see them again."

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Santillana Galeano will be reunited with parents from the school at 10 a.m. Friday, at Clark Park, located across the street from the daycare.

"“We are thrilled that Ms. Santillana was released, and has been able to return home to Chicago where she belongs," said attorney Charlie Wysong, who represents Santillana Galeano, along with Naiara Testai, Chicago law firm Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. "We will continue to pursue her immigration claims to stay in the United States. We are grateful to her community for the outpouring of support over these difficult days, and ask that her privacy be respected while she rests and recovers from this ordeal."

Santillana Galeano's arrest drew the ire of community members as she was taken into custody in front of her students by federal immigration agents without a warrant. The incident was captured on video.

RELATED: ICE Arrests IL Daycare Teacher, Dragging Her Screaming From Place Of Work — Video

The Department of Homeland Security has defended the arrest, saying Santillana Galeano was in a car with a male driver who did not comply with officers' sirens and lights. DHS said the two instead fled into the daycare, where they tried to barricade themselves. The department had previously 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.

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley had previously said Santillana Galeano, who is Columbian, had a work permit. She had fled Colombia in 2023 amid threats to her safety, was cleared to work in the U.S. through late 2029 and filed for asylum.

A GoFundMe was created to help Santillana Galeano with legal funds. As of Wednesday, $157,000 has been raised of a $150,000 goal. Organizers said the campaign resulted in the hiring of a "top-notch" immigration defense counsel, led by Kalman Resnick, of Chicago-based legal firm Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd.