Illinois Congressional leaders tour Broadview ICE facility months after being denied entry

BROADVIEW, Ill. (WGN) — Just days before Christmas, Democratic congressional leaders in Illinois took steps to hold the federal government accountable.

With a federal judge’s order in hand, U.S. Representatives Danny Davis, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Delia Ramirez and Jonathan Jackson toured U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Broadview Processing Center on Monday—a facility that has been at the center of demonstrations for months.

“Our fulfilled demand to enter the facility is just the first step to accountability,” said. “And we will continue to come without announcement or arrangement because it is our responsibility as members of Congress.”

Back in June, the same group of politicians tried to get inside ICE’s Broadview Processing Center, but were denied entry, so they took their fight to the courts.

“After all of that obstruction. We are here to say, we were right then and that we are right today,” Garcia said. “Congressional oversight is not optional, it’s the law.”

Results of the tour

By the end of their tour on Monday, Davis, Garcia, Ramirez and Jackson said that the conditions inside of the Broadview Processing Center should still be a cause for concern.

“What we saw there … a center that was not created or should allow to have people stay overnight,” Ramirez said. “Imagine 150 people in a facility with four detention spaces, three bathrooms for 80 people, no privacy whatsoever.”

Garcia said the system they saw in place at ICE’s Broadview facility reflected “a system that treats human beings as inventory.”

“They call them bodies, and they call [the process] removing them as fast as possible,” Garcia said.

Jackson said improvements have been made at the facility, but what has happened here on a local scale “is alarming.”

“After a countless amount of lawsuits, people not being able to take a shower every other day,” Jackson said. “What has happened here and across this country is alarming, and I hope more people wake up, come out, and see the facility.”

While the congressmen and congresswoman had a rare view of the immigration facilities, media and district staffers were not allowed inside with them. In fact, other than those detained, few have ever seen the inside of the facility.

15 years ago, our WGN-TV cameras were allowed into the Broadview Processing Center, and this is what it looked like as ICE prepared to depart dozens of men in 2010:

It’s not clear how much changed after our cameras were inside back then, but a judge’s order in October required ICE to improve sanitary conditions, as well as provide meals and water. Despite those improvements, though, there is still no medical staff or mental health professionals on site, something facility administrators said they are working to retain.

“If it weren’t for the lawsuits, they wouldn’t have signs that say ‘You have rights.’ If it weren’t for the work so many of us are doing, they wouldn’t have documents in Spanish, English and other languages,” Ramirez said.

It was also not clear from congressional leaders how often they plan to visit the facility after Monday’s tour. It’s also important to mention there were just two detainees present on Monday.

ICE officials said they have plans to increase staff, which could point toward increased activity and more arrests in the future. As far as conditions inside the Broadview Processing Center, the Department of Homeland Security said the facility does not have sub-prime conditions, and detainees have three meals a day with access to a phone and water.