Advocacy groups in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit against US federal authorities on Oct. 31 over “inhumane” conditions at a Chicago-area Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, claiming violations of detainees’ constitutional rights as well as federal regulations.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers—from the MacArthur Justice Center, the ACLU of Illinois and Chicago law firm Eimer Stahl—charge that federal authorities have violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process clause by imposing unreasonable conditions of confinement. They also allege violations of an administrative regulation prohibiting coercion to induce waiver of rights. They further allege a violation of the Sixth Amendment in denial of detainees’ right to counsel.
According to the complaint, unreasonable conditions at the Broadview facility include overcrowding, an unsanitary environment, sleep deprivation, and privacy violations. Holding cells are said to be overcrowded with dozens of detainees, with people forced to sleep on plastic chairs or the concrete floor in the freezing cold and with lights on all night.
The advocates also assert that detainees lack access to adequate medical care; they receive no medical intakes, and cannot obtain prescriptions and routine medication. The complaint further describes poor sanitation, with clogged toilets, and blood and other human fluids in the sinks and on the floor, stating that “the facility is a breeding ground for illness to spread.”
An additional concern is detainees’ lack of privacy. Plaintiffs said they are forced to use a toilet inside their crowded holding cell, which is visible to detainees of the opposite sex by large windows, and to officers by video surveillance.
Other allegations regarding conditions of confinement include use of excess force, verbally insulting detainees, and denial of food and water. Administrators are also accused of blocking Congress members from accessing the facility, despite “Congress’s explicit oversight authority over such facilities.”
Plaintiffs also accuse facility administrators of coercing detainees to sign paperwork that many “do not understand, and that relinquishes their rights and purports to allow [them to be deported] without ever seeing an immigration judge.”
“By blocking access to detainees inside Broadview, Defendants have created a black box in which to disappear people from the US justice and immigration systems,” the complaint states. “Incommunicado detention is not tolerated in our democracy… This case asks the Court to enforce compliance with these obligations by ordering ready access to counsel and humane conditions of confinement. Plaintiffs ask this Court to order Defendants to stop flouting the law inside Broadview.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin denied the conditions alleged in the complaint: “All detainees are provided with three meals a day, water, and have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. No one is denied access to proper medical care. There is a privacy wall around the toilet for detainees.”
Broadview is meant to be a holding facility where people are held for a several hours in cells that occupy only a portion of the first floor. However, the advocates accuse federal authorities of “warehousing people at Broadview for days on end” or sometimes weeks since their launch of Operation Midway Blitz. Homeland Security states that the operation is designed to target undocumented immigrants in Illinois who have been protected by Gov. JB Pritzker’s “sanctuary policies.” It was launched in honor of Katie Abraham, a Chicago-area woman killed earlier this year by a drunk driver who happened to be an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala.
From JURIST, Nov. 2. Used with permission. Internal links added.
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Judge orders DHS to improve conditions at Illinois facility
A US federal judge on Nov. 5 ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide better conditions for detainees in an Chicago immigration facility.
Judge Robert Gettleman of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois mandated that DHS comply with several hygiene-related requirements, ordering for cells to be cleaned at least twice daily, clean toilet facilities, opportunities to shower at least every other day, and at least three meals a day that comport with US dietary standards, among other directives. He wrote:
The temporary restraining order follows a 76-page class action complaint filed last week, alleging the perpetration of “mass constitutional violations.” According to the complaint, detainees have been forced into overcrowded cells where they sleep in plastic chairs or on a “filthy concrete floor.”
Plaintiffs also claim that they cannot speak with their attorneys. Speaking on detention conditions, one immigration attorney said: “Broadview is a black hole. When my clients are there, I am unable to speak to them or contact them.”
DHS has publicly denied the egregious conditions at Broadview, maintaining that “[a]ny claims there are subprime conditions at the Broadview ICE facility are FALSE.” However, Justice Department Attorney Jana Brady admitted that there weren’t any beds at the facility because it was not intended as a long-term detention site, but rather a processing center.
While Judge Gettleman characterized individuals held at the facility as “civil detainees,” DHS asserted that “Broadview processes the worst of the worst including pedophiles, gang members, and rapists.” The DHS website contains photos of individuals held at Broadview with captions listing the crimes they allegedly committed.
The order will remain in effect until Nov. 19, when there will be a status hearing. (Jurist)
Judge restricts ICE use of force in Chicago
US District Judge Sara Ellis on Nov. 7 ordered ICE agents to limit use force, prohibiting riot-control weapons against journalists or protestors except under specific and narrow conditions. The preliminary injunction is the latest in an ongoing court battle that started with a class action suit alleging First Amendment violations, filed on Oct. 6.
Under the terms of the latest order, ICE may only use force after giving at least two clear auditory warnings of a lawful crowd dispersal order, with time to comply. The order makes exceptions if the rapid use of force is necessary due to “exigent circumstances” (emergencies with a compelling need for immediate action).
The order came after Judge Ellis reviewed hundreds of hours of video footage of ICE activity in Chicago, stating that “the use of force shocks the conscience… The [Trump administration] would have people believe that the Chicagoland area is in a vice hold of violence, ransacked by rioters and attacked by agitators. That simply is untrue.”
She found that US Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino “admitted that he lied about whether a rock hit him before he deployed tear gas in Little Village.”
The preliminary injunction refers specifically to less-lethal shotguns, 40 mm Munitions Launchers, tear-gas, chokeholds, and carotid restraints, among other weapons and uses of force. Judge Ellis also ordered all Federal agents in “Operation Midway Blitz” to wear visible and unique identification in at least two places on their uniforms. Agents must also wear and activate body cameras while engaged in enforcement activity.
During the hearing, Judge Ellis asked witnesses about how their experiences affected them, and especially if they were reluctant to exercise their First Amendment rights. Leslie Cortez, a youth organizer in the Chicago suburb of Cicero, told Ellis, “I get really nervous because it just feels like I’m not safe. And I question my safety when I go out.” (Jurist)
Judge orders release of hundreds of migrants from ICE detention
A US federal judge on Nov. 12 ordered the Trump administration to release hundreds of people from Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, claiming they were arrested in likely violation of the Castañon Nava federal consent decree.
The order, penned by Judge Jeffrey Cummings of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, required the administration to release 13 individuals and to place 615 others in alternative monitoring programs. The court also ordered ICE to stay deportation and voluntary departure proceedings for individuals pending release on alternative programs.
The detainees were arrested during Operation Midway Blitz, launched by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in September. Following the order, DHS voiced strongdisagreement with Judge Cummings:
However, the administration agreed that the 13 detainees to be released were unlawfully arrested, possibly in violation of the 2022 consent decree.
It is estimated that as many as “1,100 people out of 1,852 arrested by ICE in the Chicago area prior to October 7 may have already been deported without due process or left the United States via voluntary departure in order to avoid prolonged stays in inhumane immigration detention centers located throughout the country.”
The order was part of a longer ongoing litigation, Castañon Nava et al. v. Dep’t of Homeland Security. Castañon-Nava represents a class of individuals unlawfully arrested in the Chicago area by ICE during the first Trump term in 2018. It was alleged that during the arrests, ICE officers violated the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Fourth Amendment.
It is still unclear how many ICE arrests, specifically warrantless arrests, were made in the Chicago area. (Jurist)
Appeals court removes order limiting use of force by ICE
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Nov. 19 removed a preliminary injunction that restricted federal agents’ use of force against protestors in the Chicago area. The panel held that the lower court order was “overbroad” and impractical. (Jurist)