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A federal judge in Chicago has issued a temporary restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security, demanding immediate improvements to conditions at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center in the suburb of Broadview. The ruling comes after a class-action lawsuit filed by immigrant rights organizations alleged "unacceptable and inhumane" treatment of detainees.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman described the alleged situation as "unnecessarily cruel" during testimony. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of several individuals held at the facility, detailed numerous claims of squalor and neglect. Detainees reported being held in overcrowded rooms with malfunctioning and汚い toilets, being forced to sleep on concrete floors under bright, 24-hour lighting, and having severely limited access to showers, clean drinking water, and edible food. Some claimed they were served frozen sandwiches that were difficult to eat.
Following the lawsuit over allegations of squalid conditions and rights violations, Judge Gettleman's order mandates several specific changes. Officials must now ensure detainees have access to working and sanitary toilets, provide adequate and nutritious food, and supply clean drinking water. The order also addresses legal rights, requiring the facility to grant detainees confidential access to their lawyers and provide them with working phones to make calls.
Furthermore, the court order addresses claims that individuals were coerced into signing their own deportation documents without fully understanding them. Attorneys for the detainees argued that a lack of legal access and sleep deprivation created a coercive environment. The temporary restraining order outlines several immediate changes and is part of a broader legal challenge to conditions within ICE processing centers. The National Immigrant Justice Center, one of the organizations behind the lawsuit, called the judge's intervention a crucial step in upholding the basic human rights of those in federal custody. The government denied the allegations but stated in court it was already working to address some of the issues raised.
