Catholic faith leaders demand access to Broadview ICE facility for Christmas

BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) -- A group of Catholic faith leaders is demanding access to the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

They want to be allowed inside on Christmas Eve and Day, to pray with detainees and offer communion.

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Some said they are horrified after seeing that more people were detained this week in the Chicago area.

"We pray they remember that those inside Broadview are not numbers, not cases, not paperwork. They are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters," said Sister Jeremy Midura, who is with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership Women's Religious Council.

Catholic clergy on Friday gathered outside the downtown immigration office.

Members of CSPL are once again requesting to access the Broadview processing facility to offer pastoral care.

They delivered a letter to a Department of Homeland Security officer to get access to the facility on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to provide communion.

"We lift our voices with theirs, and we are here to insist, and our right to extend pastoral care to them," said Father Dan Hartnett, with CSPL.

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This week, more than a dozen people were detained as immigration enforcement was carried out in Cicero, Little Village, Evanston and more.

Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino made a return, and watched as operations were carried out.

DHS reiterated that they "aren't leaving Chicago and operations are ongoing."

"Families are being ripped apart during this most holy and sacred weeks of Advent," Hartnett said.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat, was granted access to the Broadview processing center Friday.

He said he visited the detention cells, but still has many concerns.

"What I was told is that no one is being held here anymore overnight. They are normally taken to other states," said Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat who represents Illinois' 8th District. "My biggest concern is the people who they are targeting. It could just be someone who is walking down the sidewalk and had nothing to do with the target in question. They could get picked up and taken to this Broadview facility."

There is a pending lawsuit against DHS to allow pastoral care at the Broadview processing center on a regular basis.

A DHS spokesperson shared the following statement late Friday:
"The facility in Broadview, IL is a field office, it is not a detention facility. Illegal aliens are only briefly held there for processing before being transferred to a detention facility. Religious organizations are more than welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities. Even before the attacks on the Broadview facility, it was not within standard operating procedure for religious services to be provided in a field office, as detainees are continuously brought in, processed, and transferred out.
"In addition, rioters have repeatedly attacked the Broadview field office and Illinois streets, creating serious safety concerns for personnel and detainees alike. They created serious public safety and officer safety threats: assaulting law enforcement, attacking law enforcement with vehicles, throwing tear gas cans, slashing tires, been arrested with firearms in their possession, blocking the entrance of the building, and trespassing on private property.
"ICE staff has repeatedly informed religious organizations that due to Broadview's status as a field office and the ongoing threat to civilians, detainees, and officers, they for safety, they are not able to accommodate these requests at this time."