Democratic members of the Illinois congressional delegation say a Friday meeting with the Chicago field office director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been rescheduled to a yet-to-be-determined date — as they pressed the director to let them conduct oversight at the agency’s Broadview facility and answer detailed questions about President Donald Trump’s Chicago deportation operations.
Members of the delegation were scheduled to meet Russell Hott on Friday but were told the meeting had to be rescheduled to a later date. Sen. Dick Durbin and Reps. Delia Ramirez, Robin Kelly, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Sean Casten, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Jan Schakowsky, Bill Foster and Mike Quigley had planned to attend the meeting in person.
Led by Durbin and Ramirez, the delegation on Friday wrote a letter to Hott, asking him to “promptly schedule a meeting” to discuss conditions at the ICE Broadview detention facility, which they say is “desperately needed as legal service providers and our constituents have raised concerns about the poor conditions at Broadview.”
Letter to ICE Chicago Field Office Director
Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday also said he is joining the delegation in pressing for transparency and accountability. Pritzker is once again asking the Trump administration for details on how many people have been deported, and whether Trump is still planning a “military occupation” in Chicago.
Durbin and Ramirez’s office told ICE on Sept. 16 that Illinois delegation members planned to conduct oversight at Broadview on Sept. 23, following ICE’s new guidance to give notice of a visit seven days in advance. But ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Chicago said it would be “unable to support a visit.”
ICE ultimately agreed to a meeting with the delegation, instead of a visit to the Broadview facility, but then “postponed that meeting to an unconfirmed date in October.”
“ICE continues to bar the Delegation’s access to the Broadview facility, despite Congress’s inherent authority to conduct oversight of ICE facilities,” the letter states.
The delegation is asking detailed questions of the Chicago field office director, including how many people have been processed at the Broadview center; details of the average length of stay for those detained; and questions about whether the detainees were pregnant, elderly, children or having a serious medical or mental health issue.
The members also are asking about detainees’ access to phones to contact attorneys and how individuals can file complaints or grievances. The letter also inquires about additional holding areas at nontraditional ICE facilities due to capacity constraints — and what standards are being used at those facilities.
Lawmakers also question what safeguards are in place to prevent U.S. citizens from being wrongfully detained — and want to know about ICE’s policy regarding minors who are left behind during ICE arrests.
In response to agents using tear gas and pepper balls outside the Broadview facility, the delegation asked what training ICE agents and other agents at the facility have in de-escalation and First Amendment-protected activities, and what the legal basis is for federal charges for those exercising their legal right to film law enforcement.
“We urge you to fulfill your commitment to meet with the Illinois Delegation in October 2025 and answer the questions we have posed to provide much-needed transparency,” the letter says. It’s signed by Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, and Reps. Ramirez, Nikki Budzinski, Casten, Lauren Underwood, Danny Davis, Foster, Garcia, Jonathan Jackson, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, Quigley, Schakowsky, Brad Schneider and Eric Sorensen.
Pritzker on Friday accused DHS of doubling down on “aggressive tactics” in Illinois, including shooting and killing a man in Franklin Park, letting agents use military gear, leaving children stranded and arresting U.S. citizens.
The governor is asking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for a planned timeline for “Operation Midway Blitz” and how much it is costing taxpayers, how many of those detained, arrested or deported were U.S. citizens, legal residents or have visas, and how many are able to communicate with family members. He’s also asking whether Trump still has plans to bring in the National Guard and whether he’ll respond to his “repeated requests asking for more FBI, ATF and DEA agents to fight crime.”
Citing an analysis by the Sun-Times that found about half of the names and alleged charges released by DHS couldn’t be matched by court records, Pritzker is also asking whether the majority of detainees have an arrest or conviction record.
“Secretary Kristi Noem and the Trump Administration are not serious about public safety — they only care about producing viral moments,” Pritzker said in a statement. “The Trump administration claims that they are arresting criminals, yet they’ve been detaining U.S. citizens and scaring the public. Illinois taxpayers deserve to know why the federal government is spending their hard-earned money to promulgate a state-sponsored fear campaign against our people instead of supporting public safety efforts.”