CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge is expecting to hear arguments Tuesday following a lawsuit by Illinois groups against federal authorities, claiming inhumane conditions at a Chicago-area immigration facility.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman has moved swiftly, recognizing the urgent nature of the case and setting the stage for a hearing after an emergency meeting last Friday. The focus of the lawsuit is the Broadview facility, where conditions have been described as a human rights emergency according to attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the MacArthur Justice Center.
The lawsuit alleges that detainees at the facility have been denied adequate food, water, and medical services. Furthermore, it claims that detainees have been coerced into signing documents without understanding their implications, jeopardizing their legal rights and putting them at risk of deportation.
Federal officials from the Department of Homeland Security have denied these allegations, contending that they have fueled threats against immigration officers.
In a pivotal order, Judge Gettleman mandated the swift return of lead plaintiffs, Pablo Moreno Gonzalez and Felipe Agustin Zamacona, both longtime residents in the U.S., to the Chicago area for the upcoming hearing. They had been detained at the Broadview facility in October.
This legal action is part of a wider concern over conditions at the Broadview center, which activists and family members have criticized as a de facto detention site, sometimes housing about 200 individuals without access to legal counsel.
Protests against the facility have also led to a separate legal battle, as a coalition of media outlets and demonstrators accuses federal agents of violating First Amendment rights through the use of tear gas and other crowd control measures against protesters.
