Democratic lawmakers visit ICE facility in Broadview after court order granting access
Four Democratic members of Congress made a surprise visit to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview on Monday.
The ICE facility in Broadview is officially a processing center that critics have said operates more like a holding facility, with people detained by federal agents in the Chicago area spending multiple nights there. The ICE footprint in Broadview is expected to grow in the new year.
U.S. Reps. Chuy García, Danny Davis, Delia Ramirez, and Jonathan Jackson were allowed inside the Broadview facility on Monday, six months after being turned away. This time, they came armed with a federal judge's ruling that members of Congress must be granted access inside at any time – without a prior appointment – to provide oversight.
The lawmakers said their visit was unannounced, and what they found during their 40 minutes inside the building surprised them.
"There were three Christmas trees in the front part," Jackson said. "I saw an autographed photo of [Homeland Security] Secretary Kristi Noem in there. That's political propaganda. You're not supposed to use these facilities for political stages and backdrops."
At the time of their first attempt to inspect the Broadview facility in June, it was the subject of daily protests, and at its maximum head count, when an estimated 140 people were being held.
On Monday, only two people were being held in the Broadview facility. When the first member of Congress was allowed inside last month – U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood – no one was being held there.
The facility has been a key part of the Trump administration's months-long immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area, known as "Operation Midway Blitz."
Ramirez said the facility is not fit for holding large numbers of people.
"People have to have been literally on top of each other, using the bathroom as someone is standing next to you. That is the conditions of this location," she said.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration agreed to extend a temporary restraining order requiring improved conditions inside the Broadview ICE facility for several more months. That order had been issued in response to a lawsuit filed by people held inside, who have claimed the facility was overcrowded and dirty and not fit for humans, and that ICE regularly denied them their right to consult with their attorneys.
Attorneys for the Trump administration have argued that they are in full compliance with that court order, and that the legal case is now moot, but attorneys for the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit have said ICE has continued to violate their clients' rights, including continuing to deny them access to counsel.
Questions also remain about a possible massive expansion of the Broadview facility in the new year as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is set to receive an additional $170 billion in funding over the next three years.
"There's going to be a ramping up as we go into 2026, and then 85 additional personnel will be hired for Broadview," Garcia said. "Conceivably, it would entail ensuring that additional rental facilities that are converted into federal facilities would have to happen."
Lawmakers said they plan more visits to Broadview in the future to continue monitoring the conditions there throughout the federal government's immigration enforcement operation.
A spokesperson for DHS responded to Monday's visit and said in part, "The representatives spent about one hour at the facility, asked a series of operational questions, and received a thorough briefing on intake, processing, and transfer procedures. No major concerns were raised to ICE leadership during the visit."