Daily Herald opinion: Feds must be transparent about ICE operations in Chicago, suburbs
More than 100 protesters clashed with federal agents Friday near an immigration enforcement facility in suburban Broadview, with officials deploying tear gas and firing pepper balls into the crowd.
But as heated protests outside the boarded-up building have drawn headlines in recent days, families of those detained, local officials and immigration activists are worried about what’s going on inside. And a lack of transparency about conditions there is fueling fears and concerns already heightened by the deportation push unfolding in Chicago and the suburbs.
As The Associated Press reported this week, the building has become the “front line” of the Trump administration’s Chicago area immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz. Hundreds have been arrested in the last three weeks, with raids happening at apartment buildings, businesses and even in the Elgin Community College parking lot.
Immigration advocates say up to 200 people are held at the processing center in Broadview, sometimes for days, in a space with no cafeteria or showers. Reports say detainees are sleeping on the floors, including in bathrooms. Immigrants have told others that they receive little food or water. Some report being unable to get their medications.
Communication is said to be limited, even for attorneys attempting to reach their clients.
“It’s a black hole,” Erendira Rendón of The Resurrection Project told AP. “You can’t call the center. You can’t talk to anybody.”
Requests from elected officials to tour the facility and see conditions for themselves have been turned down.
On Thursday, Tricia McLaughlin, DHS spokeswoman, denied claims of poor conditions.
“Detainees are briefly processed before being transferred to detention facilities,” she said. “All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members.”
Political views play no small part in which of these scenarios people are likely to believe.
Immigrant advocates will not be swayed by government assurances. And those who back Trump’s deportation push might not have much sympathy for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
Thus, we have two vastly different versions of what is going on behind closed doors in Broadview — and one practical solution: Open the doors to a bipartisan delegation of state and local officials.
ICE leaders in Chicago canceled a meeting Friday that had been scheduled with members of Illinois’ congressional delegation seeking information. They had already denied a delegation request for an oversight visit to the facility.
Now, more than ever, that request needs to be granted.