Judge Orders Overhaul of Chicago-Area ICE Facility Amid Abuse Claims
A federal judge on Wednesday issued a 14-day order requiring improvements at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois, after detainees sued, claiming they were held in “inhumane”…
A federal judge on Wednesday issued a 14-day order requiring improvements at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois, after detainees sued, claiming they were held in “inhumane” conditions.
According to The Associated Press, the ruling mandates that detainees be provided with clean bedding, adequate space to sleep, soap, towels, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, menstrual products, and prescribed medications.
“People shouldn’t be sleeping next to overflowing toilets,” U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said. “They should not be sleeping on top of each other.”
The temporary restraining order also requires holding rooms to be cleaned twice daily, detainees to be allowed showers at least every other day, three full meals, bottled water upon request, and private, cost-free calls to attorneys.
Agents are prohibited from misrepresenting documents provided to detainees.
Gettleman said he found witness accounts “highly credible” and was moved by the severity of the conditions, describing them as “unnecessarily cruel.”
He requested a status report by Friday on compliance, acknowledging the difficulty of enforcing the order. “I don’t expect to snap my fingers and have this done,” he said.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys praised the order. Alexa Van Brunt of the MacArthur Justice Center said it prevents detainees from being coerced into signing documents in languages they do not understand.