Advocates allege 'inhumane' conditions at Chicago-area ICE facility in new lawsuit

Source: AP

Updated 8:42 AM EDT, October 31, 2025


CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois advocates sued federal authorities Friday over alleged “inhumane and torturous” conditions at a Chicago-area federal immigration facility.

Attorneys with the ACLU of Illinois and the MacArthur Justice Center say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have denied people being held at the Broadview facility private calls with attorneys and have blocked members of Congress, faith leaders and journalists from entering the building, creating a “black box” they say has allowed authorities to act “with impunity.”

Agents have also allegedly coerced people held at the processing center to sign paperwork they don’t understand, leading them to unknowingly relinquish their rights and face deportation, according to the lawsuit.
Representatives of ICE and The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Friday.

Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office and lead attorney for the lawsuit, said community members are “being kidnapped off the streets, packed in hold cells, denied food, medical care, and basic necessities, and forced to sign away their legal rights.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/chicago-ice-immigration-broadview-lawsuit-4d9b14a2ed8e28d7a4b75e42bdd7ca8a