To whom it may concern,

We write this letter as a group of healthcare workers in the Chicagoland area who are deeply concerned about the conditions faced by detainees at the Broadview Processing Center operated by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The 2025 National Detention Standards published by ICE specify that every facility must provide its detainees with “initial medical, mental, and dental health screenings... pharmaceutical services... [and] timely responses to medical complaints”. [1] However, a lawsuit recently filed by the ACLU on behalf of detainees alleges that not only are these medical needs not being met, but that the inhumane conditions of detention do not meet basic standards of dignity.

This lawsuit asserts that detainees have been kept in crowded cells with dozens of people for up to 5 days without access to showers or clean clothes. [2] Detainees report being forced to sleep in bright rooms on concrete floors, or to attempt sleeping upright - a punishment which has been ruled unconstitutional. [3] Others report being given inadequate food and water and being denied access to hygiene products. Even when dropped off by family members, several people describe being denied their prescription medications. Many also witnessed other detainees with bleeding wounds, bruising, and vomiting who did not receive medical attention. These conditions not only violate ICE’s detention standards, but basic expectations of safe living conditions. We object to this flagrant disregard for human rights.

ICE has evaded their own published standards by claiming that Broadview is not a detention facility, but a short-term processing facility, thus eliminating the obligation to provide these fundamental services. A June 24th ICE memo extended the maximum holding time at Broadview from 12 hours to 72 hours - however, there are clear accounts of longer periods of custody. [4] WBEZ reported that between June 24th and July 28th alone, at least 21 people were held in Broadview for longer than 72 hours. [5]

If these conditions do not change, we risk poor health outcomes and even death of detainees. As evidenced by the death of thousands of prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic, overcrowding and lack of healthcare is lethal. [6] Already in the first nine months of this administration, 20 people have died in ICE detention, compared to 24 deaths during the entire Biden administration. [7] As healthcare workers who are invested in the welfare of all of our patients in the Chicagoland area, we present the following demands to ICE:

1) That detainees at the Broadview Processing Center be provided with 3 meals a day, potable water, access to showers, clean clothes, and individual clean bedding mats
2) That a medical intake and appropriate medical triage occur for all detainees
3) That detainees have access to prescription and over-the-counter medications
4) That in-house medical staff are hired given detainees have been held for over 72 hours
5) That legal counsel have access to health records of detainees to offer medical affidavit when appropriate

If the above are not met by December 6th, this group of healthcare workers demands to be allowed entry into the Broadview Processing Center to provide necessary medical care. If ICE does not meet the above demands or allow entry of medical professionals, the Broadview Processing Center should not continue to operate, given it cannot demonstrate compliance with ICE’s own facility standards.

We, the undersigned, anticipate your response to this urgent matter.

1) https://www.ice.gov/detain/detention-management/2025
2) https://www.aclu-il.org/sites/default/files/moreno_gonzalez_v._noem_-_complaint.pdf
3) https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/sleep-human-right-and-its-deprivation-torture/2024-10#:~:text=Courts%20internationally%20and%20in%20the,and%20unusual%20punishment%2C%20constituting%20torture.
4) https://immpolicytracking.org/policies/ice-waives-the-12-hour-holding-cell-limit-allowing-detainees-to-be-held-for-72-hours/#/tab-policy-documents
5) https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2025/10/01/broadview-immigration-processing-center-detention-ice-dhs
6) https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/04/18/covid-prison-deaths-data
7) https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/20/ice-is-hiring-dozens-of-health-workers-as-lawsuits-deaths-in-custody-mount-00614485