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Diana Galeano arrest: DHS shares update on Chicago day care teacher detained by ICE, 'Don’t worry, she’s...'
Homeland Security has shared an update on Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a Chicago day care worker who was detained by the ICE, causing outrage.
Homeland Security has shared an update on Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a Chicago day care worker who was detained by the ICE, saying she is “going home.” The 38-year-old was detained at a day care center in Chicago earlier this week.
According to local officials, Galeano was dragged out of Rayito de Sol's Spanish-language immersion day care on Wednesday morning, as reported by CNN. One official described the incident as her being "abducted in front of her students." However, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that she fled into the day care after an attempted traffic stop, and allegedly even lied about her identity.
Homeland Security has now shared a Chicago Tribune article on X, a part of which reads, “An attorney representing the day care teacher arrested by federal immigration agents at a Chicago preschool said Friday that his client is currently detained at an ICE facility in Clark County, Indiana but that she “belongs at home.””
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Homeland Security captioned the post, “Don’t worry, she’s going home. Human smugglers have no place in America, and this one will never be allowed to return.”
In a previous social media post about Galeano, Homeland Security claimed that she was arrested “inside a vestibule, not in the school.” “The vehicle is registered to in her name, though she claims that she didn’t know the man who was driving her car and just picked him up from a bus stop,” it wrote. “Facts including criminality and information on the male assailant are forthcoming and we will update the public with more information as soon as it becomes available.”
The post was in response to Rep. Mike Quigley’s post, reading, “ICE isn’t going after the worst of the worst. This morning, they took a preschool teacher without a warrant IN FRONT OF CHILDREN in my district.”
What is DHS’ ‘human smugglers’ reference about?
The DHS claimed that Galeano had recently paid to have her teenage children smuggled across the border, according to ABC News. However, court records make no mention of the claim, the outlet reported.
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A federal judge temporarily barred the Trump administration from removing Galeano from the US and transferring her to any federal jurisdiction outside of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, according to court documents. A hearing in her case has been scheduled on November 13 by district court Judge Jeremy C. Daniel. Galeano is currently detained at an ICE facility in Clark County, Indiana, confirmed her attorney, Charlie Wysong.
“Diana Santillana Galeano remains in ICE custody and has been moved to the ICE facility in Clark County, Indiana. She was taken by federal agents from her workplace on the North Side of Chicago, Rayito de Sol Daycare Center, on Wednesday morning. Ms. Santillana has a work permit that allows her to work legally in the United States,” Wysong said.
Ganeano’s lawyers are seeking to have her released on bond under a habeas corpus petition, which was filed on Thursday, November 6, on her behalf. According to the petition, she entered the United States in March 2023 without inspection, before being released by DHS “without bond or conditions.” She was charged with entering the country without inspection, the court filing shows.
Galeano either applied for asylum or withholding of removal and was granted a work permit, which is valid through November 12, 2029, according to her lawyers. Her attorneys want Judge Daniel to direct the government to grant her a bond hearing. They have accused DHS of arresting her without a warrant in violation of a consent decree that says agents must have one while arresting certain individuals. Meanwhile, the habeas petition says Galeano was at least temporarily held at ICE’s Broadview Processing Facility.
“We anticipate Ms. Santillana will have a hearing in federal court next week, where we will seek a bond hearing to swiftly seek her release from detention. Ms. Santillana belongs at home and with the Rayito de Sol community, where she is a beloved and respected member. Our daycare centers and other schools must be safe places where our children are protected from harm,” Wysong said.
