Judge tours Broadview ICE processing facility amid claims of inhumane conditions
A federal judge toured the Broadview ICE processing facility on Thursday, amid a lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions for immigrants being detained inside the building.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally scheduled the four-hour tour of the Broadview facility after U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman issued a temporary restraining order, which required federal authorities to improve sanitary conditions inside.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit joined McNally on the tour of the facility to see if the federal government is complying with the court-ordered improvements inside. It was the first time attorneys for detainees have been able to access the building where many – if not all – immigrants arrested in the Chicago area have been taken during Operation Midway Blitz.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not speak to reporters after completing the tour. In a statement from the MacArthur Justice Center, the ACLU of Illinois, and Eimer Stahl of Chicago, attorneys declined to discuss the conditions they saw inside the facility during the tour:
"We are grateful that the court gave us an opportunity to inspect the Broadview facility. We remain committed to ensuring that any detainees at Broadview are treated with dignity, have access to counsel, and are provided due process. We will reserve detailed observations for our legal filings and presentations in the weeks ahead. We encourage anyone detained at Broadview and lawyers facing complications communicating with their clients at the facility to let us know about problems at the facility."
The tour was part of a case challenging the conditions inside the facility, which the government has described as a short-term processing hub where ICE books and transfers people to other locations.
The facility is designed to hold detainees for up to 12 hours, but since the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the Chicago area began, often has held some migrants for days.
Attorneys for detainees held at the facility have claimed it is overcrowded, that people inside have been denied access to showers, soap, and other hygiene products, and that detainees haven't been able to receive proper medical care or contact their lawyers.
Five attorneys for those detainees were able to join on this first-of-its-kind visit on Thursday to see if ICE is complying with the court order to improve conditions inside, and also were allowed to bring along a translator and a detention expert.
While they were allowed to take photographs during their visit, but the government will be allowed to review those photos before deciding if they would be sealed to the public or not, or if potentially sensitive information should be blurred, such as faces or security locks.
A previously filed court document in the case includes a map of the interior of the Broadview facility. While it shows six holding cells, bench-style sleeping areas, foil blankets, and limited visibility between rooms, notably there are no dimensions to see how large each holding cell is. That was something the judge and attorneys were able to review during their tour.
The visit comes a little over a week since Judge Gettleman's order mandating ICE to provide detainees at Broadview with clean bedding and sufficient space to sleep if they are held overnight; a shower at least every other day; clean toilet facilities; three full meals per day; a bottle of water with each meal; adequate supplies of soap, toilet paper, and other hygiene products; and menstrual products and prescribed medications.
Holding cells also must be cleaned at least twice a day, and detainees must be provided free and private phone calls with their attorneys. Detainees also must be given a list of pro bono attorneys in English and Spanish upon arrival at the facility, along with interpreter services if needed. Detainees also must be listed on ICE's online detainee locator system as soon as they arrive at the Broadview facility.
Part of the reason for Thursday's visit to Broadview was to see if those rules have been implemented.
CBS legal analyst Irv Miller said the judge has the authority to shut down the facility if there are violations.
"The judge wants to see things for herself, and I don't blame her," Miller said.
Gettleman extended his temporary restraining order to Dec. 17 while the plaintiffs' attorneys await other evidence about the conditions in Broadview, including a log of detainees held at the facility.
They also want to review surveillance video from inside.
Gettleman is set to decide later if his order mandating specific conditions inside the Broadview facility will be made permanent.
Hundreds arrested in "Operation Midway Blitz" may be released
On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered that hundreds of people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement be released from federal facilities in the next week because their arrests by ICE were possibly unlawful and in violation of a federal court order.
Attorneys with the National Immigrant Justice Center and ACLU of Illinois say federal agents have arrested thousands of people in Chicago and Illinois during Operation Midway Blitz without a warrant or probable cause.
Immigration advocates argue federal agents violated a court order issued in 2022. The Castañon Nava Consent Decree limits ICE from making arrests simply out of fear that a suspect might escape before a warrant can be obtained.