Broadview conducting 3 criminal investigations into ICE activity, mayor says

BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) -- Even as things remain quiet outside Broadview's Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility on Tuesday, there is no question that tensions are rising between the leaders of the small southwest suburban community and the federal government, which now appears poised to send National Guard troops here.

Speaking to more than 800 of the country's top brass at a military base in Virginia on Tuesday, President Donald Trump once again ratcheted up the volume, referring over and over to the "war from within."



"We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military," Trump said.

His comments came one day after the Department of Homeland Security requested that 100 National Guard troops be deployed to Illinois. At least some of those troops may be sent to Broadview following weeks of escalating clashes between ICE and the people protesting their actions across the area.



Flanked by the village's police and fire chiefs, mayors from surrounding communities and even former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson could not have been clearer, saying, "We don't want them here."



"We don't need them," Thompson said. "We can govern ourselves, and we have been doing that until this point."

In a press conference on Tuesday, Broadview officials accused ICE of endangering first responders, residents and protesters near an ICE facility through the use of tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets. Thompson said village officials are conducting three separate criminal investigations into ICE.

Broadview officials say DHS and ICE are lying when they say village officials have ignored the agencies' calls for assistance outside the processing center, where detained immigrants are being held, and where escalating protests have led agents to repeatedly deploy pepper balls and tear gas as a method of dispersing the crowds.



Both fire and police chiefs accused the federal government of overstepping their bounds as local first responders have been among those incapacitated by the deployments.

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"The majority of my officers, this is their first time in law enforcement. They are, they're shell-shocked here. In my experience, I've never experienced this," said Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills. "My officers called me. They were literally choking, trying to explain to me, give me a notification. I had to tell them get to a safe space."

Mills continued, "Our own Broadview police are routinely being exposed to ICE tear gas, forcing them out for an amount of time so that they can decontaminate, get their breath, clear their eyes, which takes them out of service... The use of these weapons is directly harming Broadview's first responders."

Downstate Republican lawmakers defended ICE on Tuesday, calling the protests unlawful. They pointed to Saturday's events, when five people were arrested and charged with assaulting federal officers.



"This is not just a trend, it's an active threat. If we remain silent, small sparks will ignite into uncontrollable fires," said Illinois Republican House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, who represents the 89th District. "If Governor Pritzker, Mayor Johnson and the Springfield democrats refuse to act, then the federal government has no choice but to protect their agents and Illinois overall."

Thompson, however, defended the protesters, saying most are guilty of no more than verbal insults.

"That happens to me all the time, and I don't go out and throw tear gas on people," Thompson said.

Thompson called on those guarding the Broadview facility to stop gassing protesters, rejecting the characterization of them as violent rioters.

"The time is now for someone to take a stand because we've seen this before. And if this is the time, and I'm the woman, I'm ready to take the lead," Thompson said.



She equated what is going on now to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

"When you look at the Civil Rights Movement, we've been through this before," Thompson said. "Here we are. A war on Broadview. We have to show them we are not afraid. I'm not afraid. And I won't be intimidated by standing up and speaking truth."

In a statement earlier Tuesday, ICE said, "Mayor Thompson is distorting reality, pointing her finger in the wrong direction, while our officers are protecting her community - and others - from real threats, while also facing skyrocketing violence against them, including at the Broadview facility."