Durbin Shares Story Of ‘Miss Diana,’ A Chicago-Area Teacher Who Was Pulled Out Of A Daycare & Unlawfully Detained For More Than A Week During ‘Operation Midway Blitz’
“So, I ask my colleagues—especially my Republican friends, who value liberty and freedom as much as I do—what is stopping this government from deploying tear gas in your home city? What is stopping them from pointing guns at your constituents?” Durbin asked in his speech on the Senate floor
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered another scathing rebuke of the Trump Administration’s so-called “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago. Since the operation launched nearly three months ago, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have used extreme tactics to unlawfully detain residents of Illinois or immigrants without a criminal record.
In his remarks on the Senate floor today, Durbin shared the story of Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a teacher and immigrant from Colombia who had employment authorization to work in the United States. Ms. Santillana Galeano was detained for a week by ICE before being released last week. Over the weekend, Durbin met with families enrolled at Rayito Del Sol and heard first-hand about the impact of the immigration raid on students and teachers.
“Two weeks ago, a viral video showed federal agents storming through the doors of the Rayito Del Sol daycare and preschool center in the North Center neighborhood of Chicago. These ICE agents in their camouflaged uniforms and masks on their faces were dragging out a teacher while she screamed and cried ‘I have papers’ in Spanish. That teacher’s name is Diana Santillana Galeano, but her students—little girls and boys between the ages of six months and six years—know her as ‘Miss Diana,’” Durbin said. “According to school officials, Diana had authorization to work, and agents did not present a warrant when they entered the building… They swooped her up out of this day care center. She disappeared, and no one could find her, not family and friends. And then she turned up in a facility in Indiana, and they released her from there.”
“This past week, I visited with the parents of some of these students, about 12 of them. They, of course, expressed concerns for her, because they love her. Miss Diana is well-loved by all these kids. They also worried about the impact of this incident on their kids—the questions and the nightmares that followed as these little ones were forced to see and hear the Administration’s brutality in full view… It is outrageous that children were exposed to this. But the Trump Administration doesn’t give a damn,” Durbin continued.
“There used to be a time when ICE didn’t cross certain lines. DHS had policies against enforcement at schools and churches for this very reason. Not anymore,” Durbin said.
Durbin reprimanded the Trump Administration for deliberately neglecting due process and legal procedures during ruthless immigration raids. Despite claims from the Trump Administration that DHS is only targeting “the worst of the worst,” data has showed that less than three percent of 614 individuals arrested during “Operation Midway Blitz” have any criminal record that DHS determined threatens public safety.
“President Trump has touted ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ as a resounding success. But these raids aren’t targeted. The Administration is swooping people off the streets while they’re dropping off their kids at school or heading to work or simply looking Hispanic,” Durbin said.
“In a lawsuit challenging warrantless immigration arrests in Illinois, Judge Cummings read from a summary he and his law clerks compiled of more than 150 pending immigration cases in which arrestees were challenging their deportation. The judge said the circumstances of the arrests showed that ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ is not targeting hardened criminals or ‘the worst of the worst,’” Durbin said.
“In that case, the Trump Administration provided a list of more than 600 individuals detained during ‘Midway Blitz.’ By their own data, just 16 of the 600 detainees have a criminal history that poses a high risk to public safety. Do you know what percentage that is? Less than three percent,” Durbin said.
Durbin concluded his remarks by criticizing Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino’s leadership during “Operation Midway Blitz” and warning his fellow Senators that they must stand up to the Trump Administration’s cruel, unlawful immigration policies or risk these policies being imposed on cities in their own states.
“All of this confirms what I have been saying for months: what is happening in Chicago with ‘Midway Blitz’ is political theater to spread fear, not reduce crime. They struck fear in the hearts of the kids at this day care center. They may never forget what they saw that day, when the agents came in with their camouflage and their masks and whisked this poor woman out to [try to] deport her,” Durbin said.
“Chicago deserves better. America deserves better. Reports indicate Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino is leaving the city of Chicago,” Durbin said. “However, we expect immigration raids to continue in the city. And Mr. Bovino has already taken this Administration’s brutal tactics that they’ve been practicing in Chicago to Charlotte, North Carolina. In just one weekend, DHS agents raided a church and arrested at least one U.S. citizen simply because he looked Hispanic.”
“So, I ask my colleagues—especially my Republican friends, who value liberty and freedom as much as I do—what is stopping this government from deploying tear gas in your home city? What is stopping them from pointing guns at your constituents?” Durbin asked.
“Don’t look the other way out of personal or political loyalty to this President. Look straight in the eyes of the people you represent and tell them you stand for the Constitution and the well-worn history of this country, where we have tried to push back when tyrants emerge. It’s on all of us to call out these abuses of power and this trampling of civil liberties,” Durbin concluded his remarks.
In response to the Trump Administration’s surge in federal law enforcement in Chicago and continuous threats to deploy the military in the area, Durbin has taken a number of steps to push back on these unlawful actions carried out by DHS and Secretary Noem under the direction of President Trump. Durbin’s actions to push back on the Trump Administration’s so-called “Operation Midway Blitz” can be found here.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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