Parents, children watch as armed ICE officers detain teacher inside Chicago preschool

Immigration officers entered a pre-school in Chicago with arms while chasing a teacher, and teachers and students looked on.

Immigration officers arrested a teacher early Wednesday at Rayito de Sol, a private preschool in Chicago, because she is an undocumented immigrant who had been caught and released at the border under Biden administration policies on June 26, 2023, Fox News reported.




Several parents said they were waiting to drop off their children around 7 am at Rayito de Sol, a Spanish immersion day care and school, when they saw armed officers in black vests bearing the words “POLICE ICE” run behind the woman and into the lobby.

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.#ice #chicago pic.twitter.com/1fhz7mYWWt

— Mike Quigley (@RepMikeQuigley) November 5, 2025

The agents dragged the woman outside as she yelled, “Tengo papeles!” or “I have papers.” The arrest appears to be one of the first instances during Trump’s second administration in which immigration officers entered school grounds to make an arrest.

During the Biden and Obama administrations, schools were considered “sensitive locations,” and agents were barred from entering with few exceptions.

What DHS said?



Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin disputed that the woman was arrested inside the school, saying she was detained in “a vestibule.”

The agency said that the driver “sped into a shopping plaza where he and the female passenger fled the vehicle,” and then ran into the school and barricaded themselves inside.

“Upon arrest, she lied about her identity,” McLaughlin said.

What Witness said?



Bystander video of the arrest shows agents in both the lobby area and farther inside the school. Immigration officers generally are allowed to enter public areas of a building without a warrant, unless it is private property where there is a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” “If they can do this at a day care where children are, where will they not go?” said Chicago Alderman Matt Martin, who represents the North Side community where the preschool is located.

Witnesses said the teacher was followed by a dark-coloured SUV as she rode to school in the passenger seat of a sedan. According to DHS, officers attempted to pull the vehicle over with sirens and emergency lights, but the driver did not stop.

The agency said that the driver “sped into a shopping plaza where he and the female passenger fled the vehicle,” and then ran into the school and barricaded themselves inside.

School officials showed agents the teacher’s employment documents, including a work permit, Martin said, but agents nonetheless detained her.

“She’s a wonderful person, a mother, an excellent community member, and a valued and treasured member of the Rayito community,” said Tara Goodarzi, an attorney whose child attends the school. “We have absolutely no idea why she was targeted.” Martin said one armed agent stayed inside after the arrest, walked around the facility room to room and questioned several adults.