Several protesters have been arrested or detained at a demonstration outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, where they demanded transparency and accountability from federal officials.
While protesters have flocked to the facility for weeks to protest the Trump administration’s enhanced immigration enforcement, the scene outside Broadview looked markedly different Friday morning.
On Beach Street, long concrete barriers were erected overnight to create a designated area for protesting, keep demonstrators and federal agents apart and keep the street clear for emergency vehicles.
Protesters began gathering in that area early Friday morning, but just before 8 a.. that area started to empty out and the demonstrators moved to the 25th Street entrance around the corner and about a block and a half away.
That was around the time Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was spotted on the roof of the facility Friday morning, where she appeared to be filming something. Later she was seen outside, chatting with Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino, who is overseeing “Operation Midway Blitz.”
The largest concentration of law enforcement — including officers from the Broadview Police Department, Illinois State Police troopers, Cook County sheriff’s deputies and officers from neighboring suburbs like North Riverside, Hillside and Maywood — was and remains as of 11 a.m. around that front entrance to the building, as well as the usual federal agents behind the facility gates and on the roof. About 100 to 200 protesters gathered at that area throughout the morning.
At one point, police formed a line keeping protesters back from the ICE facility. A special team of officers dressed in black and wearing riot gear marched in and helped control the crowd.
The crowd of protesters has steadily thinned out since the morning. As of 11 a.m., there were more law enforcement officers than protesters remaining at the facility.
At least five people have been arrested by either Illinois State Police or Broadview Police; some for aggravated battery to a police officer, others for resisting and obstruction, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office:
- Ezra Q. Imes, 27, was arrested by Broadview police and charged with aggravated battery to a police officer.
- Rafael L. Menon, 20, was arrested by Illinois State Police and charged with resisting and obstruction.
- Audrey J. Gladson, 32, was arrested by Illinois State Police and charged with resisting and obstruction.
- Eman T. Abdelhadi, 36, was arrested by Illinois State Police and charged with battery to a police officer, resisting and obstruction. She is a sociology professor at University of Chicago.
- Tricia Black was arrested by Illinois State Police and charged with resisting and obstruction.
At least a dozen people were detained and lined up behind the Broadview facility Friday morning. It was unclear if any of those seen being detained were among the five people arrested and charged. At least one person who was detained was also given medical attention in a nearby ambulance.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m., a large armored vehicle with an armed agent stationed out its top, made its way slowly through the crowd, though it was not apparent why.
There are also counter-protesters at the facility in support of ICE and federal agents.
There are digital signs around the facility warning people to stay off the streets and the majority of the state and local police involvement appears to be related to keeping people out of the roadway.
25th Avenue is closed until further notice between the entrance to the Eisenhower down to Roosevelt due to the protest.
The village of Broadview shut down its municipal building around noon, and the police chief did not respond to numerous calls from CBS News Chicago to ask if this was the kind of response or police support he had hoped for after asking for Illinois State Police and Cook County Sheriff’s deputies to help handle the crowds of protesters.
Protests outside the ICE facility have repeatedly grown heated, with ICE agents firing projectiles and using tear gas at times. So far, none of that has happened on Friday.
Illinois and Broadview police said they are not assisting ICE with any detention operations in accordance with state law.
The Illinois State Police released a statement, writing, “At the request of the Broadview Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and the Illinois State Police (ISP), with assistance from the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), have established a temporary Unified Command to coordinate public safety measures in Broadview around the facility being used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Unified Command set up designated areas where people can safely exercise their rights, which will support the safety of the public, and ensure local vehicular traffic can safely access the roads in the area. As part of this, ISP has deployed a crowd control team. The agencies involved in this operation will neither assist nor obstruct enforcement of federal immigration statutes in compliance with state and federal law.
Much of the activity was centered around a 9 a.m. news conference by aldermen, previously arrested demonstrators, and political candidates, who demanded transparency and safety protocols. They want to know why ICE has allegedly been holding people for days and weeks at a time. Speakers said they have heard that detainees are being deprived of basic needs like beds and blankets.
“That’s apparently the United States government,” said 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez, gesturing at the facility behind him. “We’re barely united at this point. I can hardly call that government. What it’s been has been the politics of division.”
CBS News Chicago has reached out to DHS to try to find out what the purpose of Noem’s visit to the Broadview facility was.
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