Teacher ‘Violently Dragged’ Out of Chicago Daycare by Armed ICE Agents, Says Alderman: ‘The Most Chilling Footage’

A daycare teacher at a Chicago Spanish immersion preschool was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Wednesday, Nov. 5, in an incident that local officials and witnesses described as violent and deeply distressing.

According to Alderman Matt Martin, the employee at Rayito de Sol was taken into federal custody shortly after the school opened at 7 a.m. local time. Parents and city officials confirmed the account to NBC News. Martin said the teacher was “violently dragged out of the facility, as there were other educators, parents, and children inside.”

Videos captured by bystanders and internal cameras reportedly show the encounter. Martin called the footage “the most chilling” he has seen during his time in office. In one clip, the woman—who has not been publicly identified—speaks in Spanish to ICE agents, claiming she has valid documentation. Martin said the armed agents moved through classrooms while children and staff were present. “We are, of course, demanding she be released immediately,” he told NBC.

Martin added that another agent “walked through room to room, talking with adults, asking at least one person to show their own documents.” He described the event as traumatic for the community, saying it will take a long time for parents, staff, and students to feel safe again. “There’s no justification for what occurred,” he said, calling the harm “immense and incalculable.”

Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Tricia McLaughlin later issued a statement on X denying that the daycare was specifically targeted. She said the situation began as a “traffic stop of this female illegal alien from Colombia,” who was the registered owner of the vehicle. According to McLaughlin, the driver refused to stop, leading officers on a pursuit that ended when the car entered a shopping plaza. Both occupants then “ran into a daycare and attempted to barricade themselves inside,” she wrote, adding that the woman was arrested “inside a vestibule,” not inside the classroom area. The woman reportedly told officers she did not know the driver and had “just picked him up from a bus stop.”

During a press conference on Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley stated that the teacher possessed a valid work permit and that agents had no warrant but still entered the school, per CBS Chicago. DHS later clarified that while the woman had work authorization, it “does not confer any type of legal status to be in the U.S.,” noting that the authorization was approved under the Biden administration.

Martin accused federal officials of spreading “lies and misinformation” about ICE operations in Chicago, echoing what he called a pattern of deceptive communication from the Trump administration and DHS.

Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, condemned the agents’ actions, saying they “went into other rooms asking and looking for teachers while children were present.” She described ICE as “an agency that has gone rogue… that believes that as long as they can cover their face, they can get away with anything.” Ramirez said she had contacted the Colombian consulate for assistance in securing the teacher’s release. Later on Instagram, Ramirez shared a video recounting how she saw a terrified 3-year-old waiting for his mother, saying his “heart was beating so fast I thought it would come out of his chest.”

Parents expressed outrage and fear in the aftermath. “As a parent, I am horrified that the place I’ve trusted with my children’s care is now a place of fear,” said Maria Guzman at the press conference. Adam Gonzalez, whose one-year-old attends the preschool, said all he heard was crying during the raid. “It’s really heart-wrenching to know that someone who has poured herself into my child is no longer here,” he told NBC. Another parent, Tara Goodarzi, said the children and adults were traumatized: “Families have been traumatized. The children were crying. The parents were crying. It’s a scene I don’t think any of us will ever forget,” she told the Associated Press.

Rayito de Sol was closed for the remainder of the day and will stay closed through the week. A rally was scheduled for Wednesday evening, and a GoFundMe campaign was launched to help cover the teacher’s legal expenses.