CHICAGO, Ill. – The ACLU of Illinois has filed an emergency class action lawsuit alleging that individuals detained at the Broadview ICE Facility are being denied access to legal counsel and subjected to inhumane and unlawful conditions.
According to a press release, the ACLU of Illinois includes the American Civil Liberties Union and its fundraising affiliate, the Roger Baldwin Foundation.
Since “Operation Midway Blitz” began on Sept. 8, 2025, large numbers of Hispanic community members have reportedly been “profiled and arrested every day” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because of their race, the ACLU said. Many of those detained have been transferred to the Broadview ICE Facility in Broadview, Illinois, a small town about 12 miles west of downtown Chicago.
The lawsuit names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security, and ICE as defendants. It demands that federal agencies “obey the Constitution” and provide detainees with lawful access to counsel and humane detention conditions.
According to the ACLU, Broadview ICE agents have denied detainees “confidential, private calls to attorneys,” as well as adequate “food, water, hygiene, and medical care.” The organization described the detainees’ treatment as “abhorrent.”
Kevin Fee, legal director for the ACLU of Illinois, said the Trump administration has transformed the Broadview facility into a “de facto detention center.” Fee argued that DHS has “unconstitutionally coerced detainees into giving up their rights” without access to legal advice or defense. The ACLU also noted that ICE agents have repeatedly denied entry to attorneys, members of Congress, and faith leaders seeking to inspect the facility.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE launched “Operation Midway Blitz” in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a “drunk hit-and-run” by a “criminal illegal alien” in Chicago. The agency said the operation targets “criminal illegal aliens” in response to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his “sanctuary policies.”
The ICE operation has sparked widespread protests across Chicago, and its legality remains under dispute in federal court. PBS reported that a federal judge ordered immigration agents to wear body cameras and barred the use of certain “riot control techniques” against peaceful protesters and journalists. The judge also required a Customs and Border Protection commander to brief her daily on the immigration situation in Chicago, but a federal appeals court later reversed the order.
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