Immigration enforcement detainees have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, alleging that the conditions in which they were detained were “filthy” and “cruel,” and that the purpose was to “coerce” their deportation.
Anti-ICE protesters confront police in Chicago
One month has passed since the “Operation Midway Blitz,” and protesters are taking to the streets in Chicago to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
CHICAGO – Detainees held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Illinois have filed a lawsuit alleging that the conditions in which they are being held are “filthy” and “cruel” and that the purpose is to “coerce” their deportation.
The federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois comes as the Supreme Court considers whether to allow President Donald Trump to send troops to the city. Since the president launched a crackdown on the region known as Operation Midway Blitz, Homeland Security officials have announced 3,000 arrests in immigration enforcement operations. The facility at the center of the lawsuit is where new detainees are held before being transferred from Illinois.
The lawsuit filed by Pablo Moreno Gonzalez and Felipe Agustín Zamacona against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others acting on her direction provides the most detailed account yet of the conditions detainees experience. Journalists, members of Congress and clergy have not been given access to the facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, Illinois.
The complaint says the Department of Homeland Security has “installed a black box designed to remove people from the U.S. judicial and immigration systems,” adding, “The facility is a breeding ground for the spread of disease, with poor sanitation, clogged toilets, sinks and walls filled with blood, bodily fluids, and insects.”
According to the complaint, federal authorities use deplorable conditions, such as agreeing to deportation without facing a judge, as a way to “force detainees to sign immigration documents that many detainees do not understand.”
The lawsuit asks for better terms and for lawyers to be allowed in-house contact with clients. Immigration attorneys in Chicago have said for weeks that they have no access to detainees in the facility.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center, the ACLU of Illinois, and the Chicago office of the law firm Eimer Stahl.
Homeland Security officials claimed that the description of conditions at the facility was “false.”
“This type of trash about ICE facilities has led to an 8,000 percent increase in death threats against our employees,” said Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin.
Officials have also made changes to the site in recent months. Windows were covered with plywood panels, and authorities erected a large metal fence around the property until a federal judge ordered their removal.
Conditions at the facility have made it a breeding ground for some protests, with 68 people arrested for protests outside the facility from Oct. 3 to 19, according to Cook County Sheriff’s Office data shared with USA TODAY.
Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton said during an Oct. 9 hearing in federal court in downtown Chicago that agents deployed $100,000 in non-lethal weapons to stop “rioters” from disrupting immigration enforcement on the ground. Since the start of the blitz on September 8th.
‘Keeping people in warehouses for days’: detailed terms of the lawsuit
The suburban Broadview facility named in the complaint is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement “processing center” where new detainees are registered before being transferred elsewhere.
Experts previously told USA TODAY that processing centers are not supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours.
Immigration officials at the facility are “currently holding people at Broadview for days on end,” according to the complaint.
Dozens of people are held in overcrowded cells, where they are forced to sleep for up to weeks on plastic chairs and concrete floors, according to the complaint. They lack food and water. They are unable to keep themselves clean, such as being refused access to menstrual products or changing their clothes.
Temperatures inside the facility were abnormal, and only some people received foil blankets or sweatshirts, according to the complaint. According to the complaint, detainees are not given medical examinations and are denied access to medical supplies, including prescription drugs brought by their families. The complaint says there is no privacy in the bathroom, allowing men and women to watch each other use the bathroom.
McLaughlin, Noem’s top spokesman, rejected the lawsuit’s description of the facility, saying it has adequate food, water, privacy and medical care. The spokesperson said detainees have access to phones to contact their families and lawyers. She said the facility is not used to house people long-term.
“The claim that there is a subprime environment at the Broadview ICE facility is false,” McLaughlin said. “In recent weeks, the worst of the worst, including pedophiles, gang members, and rapists, have been processed in this facility. The ACLU just needs to change its name. It’s clear they only care about illegal aliens who commit crimes, not Americans.”
