Advocates allege inhumane conditions at Chicago-area ICE facilities in new lawsuit

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois advocates sued federal authorities Friday over alleged “inhumane” conditions at a Chicago-area immigration center.

Attorneys with the ACLU of Illinois and the MacArthur Justice Center say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have denied people detained at the Broadview facility private calls with attorneys and blocked members of Congress, religious leaders and journalists from entering the building, creating a “black box” that they say has allowed authorities to act “with impunity.”

Agents have also allegedly forced people detained at the processing center to sign documents they do not understand, leading them to unknowingly give up their rights and face deportation, according to the lawsuit.

Representatives from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on Friday.

Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office and lead attorney in the lawsuit, said community members are “being snatched from the streets, locked in cells, denied food, health care and basic needs, and forced to give up their legal rights.”

“Every person, regardless of their legal status, has the right to access a lawyer and not to be subjected to horrible and inhumane conditions,” he said.

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Attorneys accuse ICE, DHS and Customs and Border Protection of violating detainees’ Fifth Amendment right to due process and First Amendment right to counsel, and have asked the court to force the agencies to improve conditions at the facilities.

The 76-page class action lawsuit paints a bleak picture of the facility, which attorneys say is “extremely cramped” and “smells strongly of feces, urine, and body odor,” while bugs were found in clogged sinks and toilets, resulting in urine on the floor. One man described people lying on top of each other in the bathroom, unable to find space to sleep.

“They treated us like animals, or worse than animals, because no one treats their pets like that,” one woman said in the lawsuit.

Several plaintiffs said they were detained at the processing center for periods ranging from a couple of days to three weeks.

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For months, advocates have raised concerns about conditions at the facility, which have come under scrutiny from members of Congress, political candidates and activist groups. Lawyers and relatives of people detained there have called it a de facto detention center, saying that up to 200 people have been detained at a time without access to legal counsel.

DHS previously dismissed the claims, saying detainees at the facilities have adequate meals, medical treatment and access to communication with family members and attorneys.

Downtown Broadview has also been the subject of demonstrations, resulting in the arrest of numerous protesters. The protests are at the center of a separate lawsuit from a coalition of media outlets and protesters who claim federal agents violated their First Amendment rights by repeatedly using tear gas and other weapons against them.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis sided with the coalition earlier this month, requiring federal agents in the Chicago area to wear badges and prohibiting them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists. Ellis later also demanded body cameras from officers who had them after raising concerns about the failure to comply with his initial order.