CHICAGO — U.S. Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, Congressman Chuy Garcia, Congressman Jonathan Jackson, and Congressman Danny Davis visited the Broadview Holding Center Wednesday morning, June 18, to conduct oversight of victims kidnapped by ICE agents in immigration raids that have been happening in Chicago, one of the Sanctuary Cities targeted by the Trump regime, but they were denied entry.
“The law is clear. Members of Congress have the authority to conduct oversight at any facility, unannounced.” said Congresswoman Delia Ramirez. “The Administration knows that. They break the law and bypass Congressional authority because they do not want us to see the cruelty behind these doors.”
U.S. Representative Johnathan Jackson and U.S Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi visited the facility on Tuesday, June 17, and were also denied entry. Immigrant family members reported they received texts instructing them to come to the Broadview Holding Center for a routine check-in only to be detained by ICE. A person who identified as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer phoned the Chicago Police Department to have the representatives removed, saying they were trespassers.
“This is part of the chaos Donald Trump and ICE have rained down on the Chicago region,” Krishnamoorthi said. “For ICE and Donald Trump to specifically target Chicago for these types of raids and these types of fraudulent text scams to get people to come in, only to be snatched away, is wrong.”
Chicago is bracing for ICE raids to increase substantially reaching Trump’s goal of 3000 migrants being abducted per day, just in time as the Big Beautiful Bill that will provide $150 Billion to ICE and other agencies for immigration enforcement, heads for the vote in the Senate.
Chicagoans believe with more money going to these agencies, there will be more agents terrorizing migrants who are already staying behind closed doors missing work and everyday life destabilizing the economy.
On June 12, at a news conference during a hearing at Capitol Hill, Illinois Gov. Pritzker said, “We do know ICE is coming once again in force to cities across the country, so we expect to see them in Chicago. I don’t know exactly how big the force will be, but I do know he has used other law enforcement along with ICE to carry out his ill-conceived mission to go after people who frankly are paying taxes and they’re law-abiding and they’ve been here for many, many years.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson vows Chicago is prepared to fight in the courts, the street and with policy to protect residents. As Trump’s police gets ready to invade Chicago the Mayor says they will go as far as necessary to protect the Constitution.
In the meantime, the anti-Trump movement in the country is growing to numbers in the millions preparing for the resistance. It is the only way we will put an end to these crimes against humanity.
Georgia de la Garza, who is from the beautiful Shawnee Forest of Southern Illinois, has served on the front lines as an organizer for social justice for many years. De la Garza has fought for Indigenous rights, Environmental Justice, Labor and Women’s rights on national and global fronts. She serves on the editorial board of the People’s Tribune.
