Chaos erupted Thursday outside an immigration processing center in Broadview, a western suburb of Chicago, when anti-ICE protesters clashed with law enforcement.
According to Fox News, demonstrators blocked traffic and refused orders to disperse, prompting multiple arrests. Video from the scene shows federal agents and Illinois State Police engaging with protesters before taking several into custody.
A total of 21 people—12 men and 9 women—were arrested during the skirmishes, while a few officers sustained minor injuries, a law enforcement source said.
Protesters gathered outside the facility carried placards reading “God Demands Freedom” and “Protest Is Patriotic,” alongside colorful signs shaped like butterflies.
At one point, a group attempted to move beyond concrete barriers and march toward the ICE facility, an action police deemed a major violation.
Last week, a group known as the “Suburban Moms” staged a peaceful sit-in on the same street.
The scene reportedly calmed later in the afternoon, with no additional arrests, and those detained were taken to the Broadview ICE Processing Facility, officials said.
The incident comes in the wake of a federal judge ordering the release of 13 detainees and noting that hundreds more could qualify for home confinement.
The ruling marks a setback for the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, launched Sept. 8 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE to target criminal illegal aliens in the Chicago area.
The decision stems from Margarito Castañon Nava v. DHS, a class-action lawsuit claiming federal agents unlawfully detained hundreds of migrants who were not subject to mandatory detention or final removal orders, in violation of a 2021 Biden-era decree.
In the ruling, the judge cited “unsafe and unsanitary” conditions in ICE facilities, including overcrowded buildings “next to overflowing toilets.”
The court also noted that the department’s recent reversal on detention authority represented a “180-degree change” from prior legal interpretations.
Legal experts warn the decision could result in the largest single-day release of ICE detainees in Illinois in years, fueling tensions outside the Broadview facility.
