Judge optimistic about improvements at Chicago-area ICE facility with alleged ‘inhumane’ conditions

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge expressed optimism Friday at the government’s progress in making required changes to a Chicago-area federal immigration facility with alleged “inhumane” conditions.

Many of the changes included regular cleanings, ordering bedding and making drinking water and soap more readily available for people held in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the west Chicago suburb of Broadview.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman ordered the changes Wednesday after several hours of emotional testimony from detainees about overflowing toilets, crowded cells, no beds and water that “tasted like sewer.” Gettleman called the alleged conditions “unnecessarily cruel.”

The testimony offered rare public accounts about the conditions at a facility that advocates have raised concern about for months and that has draw scrutiny from members of Congress. Lawyers and relatives of people held there have called it a de facto detention center, and tense demonstrations have been held there for several weeks.

“I am pleased with the government’s report, and hopefully we’re moving in the right direction,” Gettleman said after hearing about recent changes.

The government claims it is largely in compliance with Gettleman’s order, which will be in effect for 14 days.

Staff on Thursday began cleaning each holding room of the facility twice a day and have ordered bedding and mattresses, according to a status report from attorneys representing the federal government. The attorneys say the facility has soap, towels, toilet paper and drinking water available for detainees but will not provide toothbrushes and toothpaste unless requested by a detainee, claiming the toothbrushes “can be used as weapons.” The government is also working to secure a new food vendor contract, according to court filings.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs say they are “doubtful” that the changes have been made and want to be able to inspect the facility.

Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office and an attorney for the plaintiffs, also complained Friday that they still don’t have a working phone number or email that allows attorneys to reach their clients who are held in the facility. She said the phone numbers provided to them remain disconnected

“This has been such a repeated issue, and one that has had significant consequences,” Van Brunt told Gettleman.

Gettleman instructed the federal government to “fix that as soon as we can.”

“That’s not compliant with the First and Fifth Amendment that’s for sure,” he said before setting another meeting to discuss progress for Nov. 12.

Later Friday, Jana Brady, an attorney representing the federal government, complained about the expedited timeline for gathering documents on the facility’s conditions within the two-week time period.

“It’s impossible to get them everything they’ve asked for,” she said, claiming they are “working around the clock.”

Plaintiff lawyers hope the document-gathering phase of the case will offer a rare glimpse inside Broadview. On Wednesday, they said they may request surveillance footage of the inside of the facility among a host of other documents, including an inspection log.

Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally on Friday suggested extending the order may mean “some of this pressure cooker can be relieved” and encouraged attorneys on either side to discuss that possibility. She also began plans to schedule an inspection at the facility next week.

Earlier in the morning, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ordered the lead plaintiffs in the case — Pablo Moreno Gonzalez and Felipe Agustin Zamacona — be released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody immediately.

Van Brunt celebrated her clients’ release in a statement to the Associated Press.

“After bravely sharing their harrowing accounts of what it is like to be detained in Broadview, we are incredibly relieved that they no longer have to be held in inhumane conditions and can be safely returned to their families,” she said.

Ellis is the same judge who on Thursday issued an extensive injunction restricting federal agents’ use of force after saying a top Border Patrol official repeatedly lied about threats posed by protesters and reporters.