Operation Midway Blitz straining Broadview police resources as protests continue

BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) -- A village spokesperson says Broadview is in talks with Gov. JB Pritzker's office about getting backup to help with protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center.

On June 6, protesters filled the street outside the suburban immigration facility demanding the release of a woman rounded up in a raid on South Michigan Avenue two days earlier.

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Federal immigration agents have made numerous calls to Broadview police over the last few months, calling for backup.

The I-Team obtained a number of those recorded calls through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Federal agents descended en masse on the Chicago area in early September.

The so-called "Operation Midway Blitz," Broadview says, has all but maxed out their police force.

"It pretty much takes 75% of my manpower to ensure an orderly demonstration," Broadview Police Department Chief Thomas Mills told the I-Team.

Chief Mills says they have had to rely on help from neighboring departments.

RELATED: Protester hit by pickup truck near Broadview ICE facility; Border Patrol chief in Chicago

Last Friday, a Homeland Security spokesperson said "rioters assaulted law enforcement...Police under JB Pritzker's sanctuary jurisdiction refused to answer multiple calls for assistance."

"I'm disappointed that they would say that because that is not true," Chief Mills said.

But, with little relief, the village is now pleading for state help.

"Within the last three weeks, things have really increased. So, now we are reaching out with more requests for resources. It's just now where the ask is becoming greater," Mills said.

Newly erected extra high fences now guard the ICE processing center.

After a deadly assault from a sniper at an ICE facility in Dallas, ABC7 Chicago's chief law enforcement expert, Derek Mayer, says the fences are absolutely necessary.

"What I'm doing with my company, with my clients, is we're talking about moving perimeters further out. We need to secure everything. So, just pushing our security measures outward," Mayer said.

The Broadview fire marshal says those high fences are "blocking any emergency response to the area."

After conversations with the governor's office over the past 48 hours, the village of Broadview told the I-Team it's looking forward to state support beyond mutual aid from State Police and neighboring agencies.