U.S. Border Patrol takes over security of Broadview ICE facility, protests continue over the weekend

BROADVIEW, Ill. (WGN) — The ICE processing center in west suburban Broadview has been the scene of more protests and arrests this weekend, and the U.S. Border Patrol has now taken over security of the facility from ICE.

Meanwhile, Village of Broadview officials accuse ICE of trying to intimidate them for exercising their First Amendment rights. They claim the agency is retaliating and sent a warning to the Broadview Police Department that included an expletive.

About 100 demonstrators gathered Saturday outside the Broadview ICE facility to voice their opposition to the immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area that the Trump administration has named “Operation Midway Blitz,” leading to more clashes between agents and protesters.

Agents again fired tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets into the crowd. Demonstrations have been taking place daily outside the facility since the operation began.

Saturday’s rally, organized by Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity Chicago and the Revolutionary Black Panther Party, included a press conference where members pledged to continue their fight against federal immigration operations in Chicagoland.

Protesters arrived with signs denouncing immigration enforcement and vowed to keep showing up at the facility, rain or shine.

“Today we gather in solidarity,” Alli Muhammad, leader of the Revolutionary Black Panther Party, said. “We want everybody that is listening and that will listen to understand this is all of our fight. It’s not one group against the other group.

“They’re coming for us all.”

Mayor sends letter

Village of Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson is urging all village residents to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves. She sent a letter to ICE on Friday calling for the agency to “stop making war on our community.”

Thompson says the pepper spray and tear gas used by ICE agents to disperse protesters is impacting surrounding homes and businesses, and that the agency has illegally constructed a gate in front of the facility preventing the local fire department from accessing the area in an emergency.

A village statement said that in retaliation, ICE agents warned the Broadview Police Department “that there will be an (expletive) show in Broadview” and that agents would again deploy chemical arms.

Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the actions of ICE officers, saying she’ll deploy more federal agents to ICE facilities nationwide, including the one in Broadview.

“More than 200 violent rioters were at a Chicago ICE facility chanting, ‘Arrest ICE, shoot ICE,'” Bondi said. “At least one had a gun. We’ve seen this before. We saw it in Portland and with the LA riots.

“These are not peaceful protests.”

Recent protests, arrests

Several protests have taken place at the Broadview ICE facility in recent weeks, including a tense confrontation on Friday when ICE agents deployed pepper balls and tear gas against demonstrators. A similar scene played out just a week prior to that.

At about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, two protesters were seen being chased by federal agents on Beach Street near the facility. They were eventually arrested. Verbal warnings by federal agents toward protesters to clear the street as vehicles were leaving the facility led to the chase.

Things then escalated further shortly after 8:30 p.m., when ICE agents confronted protesters and threw gas cannisters into the crowd.

Greg Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent for the U.S. Border Patrol El Centro Sector, has been seen leading the group of federal agents at the Broadview processing center.

Bovino’s staff confirmed to WGN-TV‘s sister station, NewsNation, that Border Patrol has taken over security of the building from ICE.

Dozens of arrests have been made in the weeks since “Operation Midway Blitz” began, including 40 people on Saturday.

But the operation has been met with significant pushback from state and local leaders, as well as community members. Some have made up “rapid response teams,” who’ve been making their presence known on the streets of Chicagoland.

ICE activity has been reported in Wheaton and Elgin recently, and agents also appeared to target roofers in Naperville, leaving workers and residents shaken. On Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol boats were spotted on the Chicago River.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says his office is closely monitoring the situation and that he defends Americans’ rights to peacefully protest.

“The suggestion that chemical agents like tear gas or pepper spray could be used indiscriminately against peaceful demonstrators, or even first responders, is unacceptable and not normal,” Pritzker said, in part, in a statement.

Hundreds of protesters also gathered downtown Saturday afternoon to call for an end to ICE activity in the Chicago area. Leaders of more than a dozen groups met for speeches at Daley Plaza before marching through the streets.

The groups say Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has not done enough to distance herself from the Trump administration.

They called on her to investigate the Broadview ICE facility and the death of Silverio Villegas-González, who was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent in northwest suburban Franklin Park last month after allegedly trying to evade arrest during a traffic stop.