A federal judge has ruled that ICE has been keeping illegal immigrant detainees in squalid conditions at its facility near Chicago, and ordered a list of changes including cleaning cells twice a day, three full meals, soap and toothbrushes, and clocks in each room.
Judge Robert Gettleman, a Clinton appointee, also ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be truthful with migrants when presenting them with documents — an indication that he thought ICE was deceiving some of the detainees at the Broadview processing facility.
Broadview has become a focal point for anti-ICE demonstrations in Chicago, where President Trump has pushed for a surge of immigration arrests.
Migrants who have passed through Broadview complained of unsanitary conditions and an inability to talk to lawyers.
After hearing evidence, Judge Gettleman largely agreed with those complaints.
“Based on the record currently before it, the court finds that plaintiffs and members of the putative class have suffered, and are likely to suffer, irreparable harm absent the temporary relief granted herein,” he wrote in his order Wednesday laying out new conditions.
He said hold rooms must be cleaned regularly and detainees must be given bedding and space to sleep. They also must have access to a shower at least every other day, and must be able to get toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, towels and toilet paper.
Meals must meet federal dietary guidelines and bottled water must always be available.
Judge Gettleman ordered a list of pro bono lawyers be provided to each new arrival, and he ordered ICE to be honest with detainees in any documents.
“Defendants shall not misrepresent the contents of any papers they provide to detainees,” he wrote.
Homeland Security said the judge had been swayed by a “false narrative” about the facility.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said detainees already had three meals a day, water and access to phones.
“Some of the worst of the worst including pedophiles, gang members, and rapists have been processed through the facility in recent weeks. When will the media start reporting on the criminal illegal aliens arrested from American communities and stop peddling hoaxes about illegal alien detention centers?” she said.
