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By Gabe Whisnant
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A federal judge in Chicago on Wednesday ordered authorities to improve conditions at an immigration detention facility after detainees sued, alleging they were held in “inhumane” conditions.
The temporary order, which applies to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, a suburb west of Chicago, will remain in effect for 14 days. It requires officials to provide detainees with clean bedding and adequate sleeping space, along with soap, towels, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, menstrual products and prescribed medications.
Why It Matters
Advocates have for months raised alarms about conditions at the Broadview facility, which has also come under scrutiny from members of Congress. Lawyers and relatives of detainees have described it as an unofficial detention center, and protesters have held tense demonstrations outside for several weeks.
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Here's What ICE Officials at the Broadview Facility Must Address
- Provide every detainee held overnight with clean bedding and adequate space for sleeping.
- Clean each holding room at least twice a day.
- Install or provide a visible clock showing the current time and date in each room.
- Supply detainees with soap, towels, toilet paper, and oral-hygiene items.
- Provide menstrual products to all who need them.
- Offer showers at least every other day in sanitary facilities.
- Serve three complete meals per day that meet U.S. dietary standards.
- Provide drinking water with every meal and bottled water upon request.
- Ensure access to prescribed medications and allow family or counsel to drop off needed medicine.
- Maintain proper storage for medications that require refrigeration or special handling.
- Give each detainee free, private telephone access to communicate with attorneys.
- Protect the confidentiality of attorney-client communications.
- Provide a list of pro bono immigration lawyers in English and Spanish, along with interpreter services when needed.
- Ensure all detainees are accurately listed in the ICE Online Detainee Locator System, showing their correct location.
- Translate all documents given to detainees into Spanish and refrain from misrepresenting their contents.
Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email on Wednesday evening for comment.
What People Are Saying
Alexa Van Brunt, lead attorney on the case and the director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office, told Newsweek via email, "No one should be subjected to the treatment and conditions that individuals at Broadview are currently experiencing. We are thankful to Judge Gettleman for issuing a temporary restraining order requiring ICE to provide ample, clean space and bedding for sleep, sufficient access to water and food, confidential access to counsel, and an end to misrepresenting immigration forms.
The statement continued, "These are urgent and necessary measures to protect these detainees and preserve their basic human rights. Our democracy is no place for inhumane, unsafe detention conditions, nor should it tolerate legal coercion without confidential access to counsel. We are committed to continuing our advocacy so that long-term, permanent relief can be put in place.”
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said, “People shouldn’t be sleeping next to overflowing toilets. They should not be sleeping on top of each other.”
What Happens Next
The order will be in effect for 14 days.
Updates: 11/5/25, 7:28 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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