CHICAGO (WLS) — About a week after her arrest, a day care worker detained by federal immigration agents in Chicago was released from custody, a law firm said.
Diana Santillana Galeano was released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Clay County, Indiana Wednesday night, according to a news release from Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym.
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“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 in a statement. “I love our community and the children I teach, and I can’t wait to see them again.”
Earlier Wednesday, federal Judge Jeremy C. Daniel ordered the Trump administration to provide a bond hearing for Santillana Galeano.
Judge Daniel ruled, as he has in other recent high-profile cases, that Santillana Galeano’s detention without a bond hearing was unlawful because it violated her right to due process.
“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 Ms. Naiara Testai at 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.”
Erin Horetski, a parent of one of the children Santillana Galeano teaches at the day care told ABC News she “burst into tears” when she heard the news of her release. She said “Ms. Diana’s” statement says a lot about the type of person she is.
“She’s thinking first about the kids, about all of us, even after everything she has been through. It’s moments like this when you’re reminded that people like Diana are the heart of this community. And even in the darkest circumstances, her instinct is to send love outward,” Horetski told ABC News.
Parents who leave their children at Rayito de Sol Spanish immersion day care and preschool on Chicago’s North Side voiced concern last week after Santillana Galeano was detained.
The Colombian day care teacher was being held at the Broadview U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility before being transferred to Clark County.
A federal judge previously barred the Trump administration from removing Santillana Galeano, 38, from the U.S. and transferring her to any federal jurisdiction outside of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, court documents show.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Santillana Galeano was arrested for human trafficking. A statement from the agency alleges she paid traffickers to bring to two teenage children to the U.S.
DHS reports Santillana Galeano and a man driving her car refused to stop last Wednesday and then fled into the day care, barricading themselves inside.
Some who witnessed the incident and viewed video at the day care refute that claim, instead alleging armed ICE agents went room to room inside the day care.
Court records state Santillana Galeano has applied for either asylum or withholding of removal and was granted a work permit that is valid through Nov. 12, 2029.
Judge Daniel also ordered a bond hearing for the father of a teen cancer patient, who was being held in Clark County.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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