Four Illinois Democratic members of Congress toured the Broadview ICE processing center after a judge temporarily blocked limits on congressional inspections. Lawmakers said conditions appeared quieter but still raised concerns about privacy, limited showers and a lack of on‑site medical personnel. The center was a focal point of an enforcement sweep that at one point held more than 150 people and is tied to over 4,000 local arrests. ICE says it has made improvements but denies that the site functions as a detention center.
Illinois Democrats Inspect Broadview ICE Processing Center After Judge Blocks Visitor Limits
Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., and Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., leave after a visit to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)
Four Illinois Democrats visited a federal immigration processing site in Broadview, Ill., on Monday after a federal judge temporarily barred the administration from enforcing new limits on congressional inspections of immigration facilities.
U.S. Representatives Danny Davis, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Jesús "Chuy" Garcia entered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center six months after they had been denied access. The lawmakers spoke briefly with a masked official at the building entrance, toured the boarded‑up brick facility and departed about an hour later.
What Lawmakers Saw
The delegation said the facility appeared unusually quiet that day, with only two people in custody versus about 20 the previous day. At the peak of an enforcement operation called "Operation Midway Blitz," officials reportedly held more than 150 people at Broadview, often for multiple days.
"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," Rep. Garcia said after the visit.
Concerns and Claims
While ICE officials say they have implemented improvements — including hot meals and access to legal counsel — the lawmakers cited persistent problems: toilets with limited privacy, few showers and no on‑site medical personnel. Rep. Delia Ramirez highlighted the lack of medical staff as particularly troubling after the December death of 56‑year‑old Nenko Gantchev, a Bulgarian national who was arrested in the Chicago‑area sweep and was later found unresponsive at an ICE facility in Michigan; ICE said he appeared to have died of natural causes and the official cause remains under investigation.
The judge’s temporary order stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who challenged ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention and processing facilities. Since the ruling, other members of the House have inspected ICE sites: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi recently entered Broadview and said overnight holding practices appeared to have paused, while Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat toured a New York holding site and reported detainees were sometimes held for up to three days without showers or proper beds.
Federal authorities previously restricted access to Broadview — barring attorneys, relatives and journalists — and at one point erected a fence around the building amid growing protests. ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
