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.
Kevin Fee, legal director of the ACLU of Illinois, called it a rare glimpse “inside a facility that has been shrouded in secrecy for far too long.”
Plaintiffs are also seeking documents on detention policies, records of ICE’s detainee locator system, emails from attorneys, inspection logs, and details on food, water, and medications provided.
In a related Chicago courtroom, Senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino defended agents accused of using excessive force against protesters near Broadview.
During a deposition played at a preliminary injunction hearing, footage showed Bovino tackling a man, though he denied using “reportable force.”
Witnesses, including Oak Park Township Trustee Juan Munoz, said Bovino pinned and knocked him down during a protest, and youth organizer Leslie Cortez testified that an agent pointed a gun at her while she recorded ICE arrests.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis has already ordered agents to wear badges, banned certain riot-control tactics against peaceful protesters, and added a body-camera requirement.
The judge will consider further action amid a surge of allegations detailing the use of tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber bullets at Broadview and other Chicago-area demonstrations.
Justice Department attorney Sarmad Khojasteh argued that some protesters threatened officers and obstructed duties, while plaintiffs maintained that the agents’ actions were unprovoked.
The orders and hearings come as ICE faces heightened scrutiny over the treatment of detainees and the conduct of federal immigration agents in the Chicago area.
