BROADVIEW, Ill. – Protesters returned to the Broadview ICE processing center Friday for a day of demonstrations, vowing to keep pressure on federal immigration officials after previous tense confrontations.
Crowds gathered outside the facility at 1930 Beach St. from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. They plan to return at 7 p.m., with organizers expecting a larger turnout after work hours.
The site has long been a focal point for activists opposing ICE operations in the Chicago area.
What they’re saying:
A week ago, protesters said they were met by more than a dozen ICE agents wearing military clothing and carrying guns, and that agents twice fired “chemical weapons” into the crowd.
“ICE doesn’t make me or my community safer,” demonstrator Britt Hodgdon said in a statement. “If exercising my right to free speech gets me tear gassed, then I’m not safe. If my neighbors go missing into a deportation system where their families can’t find out where they’ve been taken, then my neighborhood is not safe.”
Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson recently announced federal officials plan to use the facility as the “primary processing location” for people detained in the Chicago area by ICE this fall.
Last week, protesters blocked a vehicle they believed was being driven by an ICE agent as it attempted to enter the facility. Activists said they remain determined to continue their demonstrations.
“I’d rather see a dozen ICE agents here at the office standing off against peaceful protestors than out on the streets terrorizing my neighbors,” social worker Quinn Pennington said. “If coming out means I can keep my community even a little bit safer, I’m going to keep showing up.”
Dig deeper:
ICE has been ramping up its mass deportation efforts since President Donald Trump took office in January, including in large cities such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
In recent weeks, Trump has expressed interest in cracking down on crime in Chicago after a multi-agency surge in D.C. has led to a reported decrease in crime and hundreds of immigration-related arrests.
The Department of Homeland Security is currently leading two efforts in the Chicago area to crack down on undocumented immigrants: Operation Midway Blitz and Operation At Large.
The Source: The information in this report came from protesters and previous FOX 32 reporting