Judge calls alleged conditions at Broadview ICE facility ‘unnecessarily cruel’ after day of testimony

CHICAGO — A federal judge on Tuesday heard hours of testimony from undocumented immigrants who have recently been detained at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview — a place described as a “black box” in a lawsuit filed last week alleging horrific conditions and overcrowding.

After listening to five former detainees describe nights trying to sleep on plastic chairs or the cold concrete floor and days eating small rations of cold sandwiches and largely failing to get in touch with families or legal counsel, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman concluded the conditions were “unnecessarily cruel.”

“Sleeping shoulder to shoulder next to filthy toilets that are overflowing, surrounded by human waste,” the judge said. “It’s just unacceptable.”