A group of faith leaders from the Chicago area spent their morning on Christmas Eve outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview, after being denied access once again.

Faith leaders who represent all different religions have repeatedly asked to go inside the ICE processing center to pray with the people being held there, but have been kept out.

Their latest attempt comes at an important time for Christians as they participate in special services for Christmas.

"It is what we do in prisons. It is what we do in jails. It is what we do in our faith communities near and far all over this world, but not at Broadview detention center," said Fr. Brendan Curran, with The Resurrection Project, an immigration advocacy group.

The building in Broadview is a processing center for people arrested by ICE agents, but critics have said it operates more like a holding facility, with people spending several nights in its holding cells.

At the peak of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operation in the Chicago area, about 140 people were being held in the Broadview facility at one time. As of earlier this week, only two people were being held there.

Members of Congress have said those numbers could grow in the new year, as they expect the Trump administration to ramp up their immigration crackdown in the coming months.