The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a statement addressing reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers targeted a daycare in Chicago, Illinois during an arrest operation. The agency stated these reports are inaccurate.
According to DHS, Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, an undocumented immigrant from Colombia, was first encountered by Border Patrol after crossing the southern border on June 26, 2023. She was released into the United States by the Biden administration. Last month, DHS says Galeano paid smugglers to bring her two children, aged 16 and 17, into the country illegally through the southern border. Both minors were apprehended near El Paso, Texas and processed as unaccompanied children before being brought to a shelter in the Chicago area.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin clarified the events surrounding Galeano’s recent arrest: “ICE law enforcement did NOT target a Daycare. Officers attempted to conduct a targeted traffic stop of this female illegal alien from Colombia. Officers attempted to pull over this vehicle, which was registered to a female illegal alien, with sirens and emergency lights, but the male driver refused to pull the vehicle over. Law enforcement pursued the vehicle before the assailant sped into a shopping plaza where he and the female passenger fled the vehicle. They ran into a daycare and attempted to barricade themselves inside the daycare—recklessly endangering the children inside. The illegal alien female was arrested inside a vestibule, not in the school,” said McLaughlin.
McLaughlin added that upon arrest Galeano gave false information about her identity: “Upon arrest, she lied about her identity. The vehicle is registered 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. 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.”
DHS disputed several specific claims circulating in media reports:
- ICE did not target or make arrests at schools or daycare centers.
- The arrest did not occur in front of children.
- Work authorization does not provide legal status; Galeano’s work authorization had been approved by federal authorities under existing policy.
DHS also emphasized its current enforcement priorities: More than 70% of all ICE arrests involve individuals with pending charges or convictions within U.S., according to department figures.
