Illinois members of Congress are latest to tour immigration facilities
after judge’s ruling
[December 23, 2025]
By SOPHIA TAREEN
BROADVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Four Illinois Democrats toured a federal
immigration center outside Chicago on Monday, the latest members of
Congress allowed inside immigration facilities after a judge last week
lifted Trump administration limits on lawmaker visits.
Six months after they were denied access, U.S. Reps. Danny Davis, Delia
Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Jesús “Chuy” Garcia entered the
immigration processing center in suburban Broadview. The U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, criticized as a de facto
detention center with inhumane conditions, has been at the forefront of
an immigration crackdown resulting in more than 4,000 arrests in the
Chicago area.
The Associated Press observed the lawmakers enter the boarded-up brick
building after talking to a masked official at the door and then leave
about an hour later.
“We wanted to test whether or not there would be a violation of a court
order reaffirming that we have the right to be here at any time for any
reason, without advance notice,” Garcia said afterward.
A federal judge last week temporarily blocked the Trump administration
from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration
facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of
Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor
policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.
After their visit, the Illinois lawmakers reported that Monday seemed
like an atypical day with only two people in custody. A day earlier
there had been 20, according to Garcia.
During the height of the immigration crackdown dubbed “Operation Midway
Blitz,” more than 150 people were held at the facility, many for several
days at a time, according to congressmen, attorneys and activists.
Conditions at the center, where immigrants are processed for detention
or deportation, prompted numerous complaints, a lawsuit and a
court-ordered visit by a judge. Illinois does not have an immigration
detention center.
Since then, immigration officials have said they've made changes and
those held at the Broadview center have access to hot meals and legal
counsel, among other things. ICE has rejected claims that the processing
center is used for detention.
While the Illinois Democrats noted improvements, they raised concerns
about toilets without adequate privacy, few showers, and no medical
staff on site.
“This visit will not end our responsibility. We will follow up,” Jackson
said. “We will be back and we’ll demand answers.”
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Four Illinois members of Congress Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Jesus
Garcia, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Jonathan Jackson,
D-Ill., enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP
Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Ramirez said not having a medical professional nearby was troubling,
especially after the death of a 56-year-old man found unresponsive at an
ICE facility in Michigan. Nenko Gantchev of Bulgaria was arrested in the
Chicago area crackdown. ICE officials said it appeared he died of
natural causes on Dec. 15, but the official cause remained under
investigation.
Since the ruling, House members elsewhere have also visited ICE
facilities.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, gained access to
the Broadview facility on Friday and reported the practice of holding
people overnight seemed to have ended for the time being. He said he had
tried multiple times to visit over the past few months.
In California, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez visited a federal immigration
facility in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. The Democrat, among the 12
lawmakers who sued, said there was no working kitchen, no on-site
medical staff and limited food options, according to a statement.
In New York, U.S. Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, both
Democrats who also sued, visited an ICE holding facility on Friday at 26
Federal Plaza in New York City. In a joint statement, the congressmen
said immigrants were being held for as long as three days without access
to showers and proper beds.
“The Trump administration’s obsession with hitting an arbitrary — and
unrealistic — number of deportations is creating a humanitarian crisis,”
Espaillat said.
In Illinois, the Trump administration has kept strict controls on access
to the Broadview facility, barring attorneys, family members of those
arrested and journalists. At one point federal authorities built a fence
around the building as protests grew and clashes with federal agents
intensified.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois said she was allowed
to visit the Broadview facility late last month. Underwood, a Democratic
member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, raised
concerns about conditions, staffing and record keeping. She said no
arrestees were present during her visit “due to a scheduled security
system video camera update.”
A message left Monday for ICE wasn't immediately returned.
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