Washington, DC, November 5, 2025—Early this morning, federal agents entered an early learning center in Chicago and abducted one of their teachers without a warrant. The teacher’s abduction was captured on video, in which she can be heard telling the agents that she has documentation. The woman is a pre-K teacher at the center, Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center, which is located near a local high school.

Chicago has faced weeks of heightened and violent immigration raids at the hands of federal agents, which have resulted in unlawful arrests, family separations, traumatized children y families, disrupted routines of work, schooly appointments, and even death. To protect children and families in sensitive locations like Rayito de Sol, Illinois has issued guidance and introduced legislation that would protect places like hospitals, schools, courthouses, and child care programs from federal immigration actions to ensure safe spaces for all.

Members of the Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN) y The Child Care for Every Family Network boldly condemn this abduction and issued the following statements:

Wendy Cervantes, Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at the Center for Law and Social Policy: “At a time when families are facing growing child care shortages and centers are closing, immigration raids should not be terrorizing child care workers and traumatizing children. In the United States, one in five child care workers are immigrants; they are critical to the development of our children and to our economy. Child care centers have also long been considered safe havens from immigration enforcement, and today’s action undermines the shared principle that fear of such enforcement should not hinder the ability of children and families to have their basic needs met. We demand the release of this teacher so she can return to her workplace and family. We urge policymakers to hold ICE accountable to these harms and ensure places like child care centers, schools, and hospitals remain safe and accessible to all families.”

Diane Limas, Board Vice President at Communities United in Chicago: “What children and families are experiencing in Chicago is traumatizing. When children are witnessing how their caretakers are being taken away by armed and masked agents, you can imagine the emotional trauma that will linger on these children for years. Nobody should ever have to experience these terrifying experiences. Chicago, nor any city in our country, needs federal agents to inflict trauma among our children. These operations that are scarring an entire generation need to end now, and we join calls to hold ICE accountable for the harm they are causing.”

Andrea Paluso and Erica Gallegos, Co-Directors of the Child Care for Every Family Network: “This horrific act of violence by ICE and this administration lays bare the cruelty and systemic neglect faced by immigrants, women, and people of color in this country. When child care providers are targeted and children and families are left traumatized, it exposes how deeply broken our systems are—from immigration to child care to basic human safety. Our movement for universal child care will not be silenced or sidelined. We stand with the provider torn from her workplace and with every family forced to navigate fear and instability. We are building power, demanding accountability, and refusing to accept a society that devalues care and the people who provide it.”

Karla Coleman-Castillo, Senior Policy Analyst of Child Care & Early Learning, National Women’s Law Center: “One in four early educators in Chicago are immigrant women, making today’s lawless raid not just an attack on the immigrant community, but on child care programs across the city. This teacher is part of a proud legacy of immigrant women who form the backbone of our child care system, and it is sickening to see these ICE agents treat her like a criminal. We urge federal law enforcement to release her immediately and restore protections that prevent immigration raids in child care centers, where young children should never be subjected to fear or trauma.”

Carmen Feliciano, Vice President, Policy and Advocacy, UnidosUS: “Today’s abduction of a teacher at Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center underscores why Congress must act to protect early childhood centers as safe, nurturing spaces for all children. Dual-language programs are vital not only for children’s cognitive and social development, but for fostering a sense of belonging for Latino children. Federal actions that terrorize educators and families create a chilling effect, threatening the very ability of these programs to operate and serve children. Congress must ensure clear protections for child care centers, safeguard immigrant educators, and uphold the right of every child to learn and thrive in a safe environment.”

“Children and the caregivers who nurture and protect them deserve safety and dignity—not fear and violence,” said Liza M. Davis, Advocacy Director for Children in Immigrant Families at The Children’s Partnership. “Early educators are the backbone of our communities. When immigration agents detain or target child care providers, they are not only violating the rights of those workers—they are tearing at the very fabric of trust and stability that young children depend on to grow healthy and thrive. Every child deserves to learn and grow in a space where their caregivers are safe, supported, and free from the threat of harm. We must stand with our early educators and do better for our children.”

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The Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN) is a national network of children’s advocacy organizations and service providers committed to protecting and defending children in immigrant families, guided by policy principles to ensure that immigration policies safeguard children’s health, safety, and well-being. Since 2020, CTAN has urged federal and state officials to advance the “best interest of the child” in all policies and to reject policies that put children in harm’s way and undermine their safety.

The Child Care for Every Family Network is the national movement and campaign to transform child care, representing 2000+ child care providers, impacted families, state and national organizations, and organizers across the country. Learn more: childcareforeveryfamily.org.