BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — As demonstrators kept their fight going outside the Broadview U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Saturday, at the same time, a court battle seemed to put an end to federal plans to have the National Guard on Chicago area streets, at least for now.
The Trump administration on Friday asked an appeals court for an immediate stay of a Chicago federal judge’s ruling this week that blocked the National Guard from deploying in Illinois.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday upheld the judge’s ruling, but did partially grant the Trump administration’s request for stay by allowing troops to remain federalized pending their appeal of the judge’s ruling.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a statement later Saturday, saying, “The court’s order today keeps the troops off the streets of Chicago, Broadview or any other community in Illinois. This is a victory for our state. This is a victory for state and local law enforcement – who know their communities and who protect the right of their communities to speak truth to power.”
The Department of Justice says the National Guard is needed to protect federal officers from violent attacks and called Judge April Perry’s move to grant the temporary restraining order “extraordinary.”
Perry wrote in her opinion, after granting the state’s request for that temporary restraining order, that the deployment of the National Guard “is likely to lead to civil unrest.”
Even as temperatures dropped, protesters’ voices still rang high outside the Broadview ICE detention center.
Protests continued after local faith leaders held a prayer march to the facility Saturday morning. Their goal was to bring holy communion to detainees. Illinois State Police stationed outside the detention center said they called ICE with the request, which was denied.
Before heading to the facility, the priests, nuns and community members gathered at a Maywood church for a prayer service.
Bill Delong, a retired Army veteran visiting from Kentucky, was among the anti-ICE demonstrators in Broadview.
“We all are Americans until due process,” Delong said. “I love my country, and I don’t know what happened, you know? When you start to see people get rolled up off the streets, hooded up, and thrown in vans; that’s something that we fought against.”
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The latest in the legal battle over National Guard deployments comes as protesters and agents have clashed multiple times in the past, ending with arrests.
Officials said Saturday night that 15 people were arrested by Illinois State Police in connection to protests near the Broadview facility throughout the day. Most charges were resisting, obstruction and disobeying a police officer.
Illinois Democrats and Republicans remain divided of the deployment of the National Guard to assist federal agents in their ongoing immigration enforcement operation across the Chicago area.
“This is an intentional attack by this president to divide and separate our communities, but he has finally met his match in the greatest city in the world, in Chicago,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
“I’m in disappointed in general,” Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar said. “What we’re really trying to do is just implement the immigration laws that currently stands. And unfortunately, the protesters that are out there are disrupting the area to the point where it’s become unsafe for federal officers.”
Meanwhile, another federal judge ruled the metal fence that was erected outside the Broadview ICE facility must come down by early next week. This comes after the Village of Broadview sued, saying it blocked this public road and could impact first responders getting to a scene.
READ MORE | Broadview protest arrests, dropped charges influenced ruling to bar National Guard deployments
Friday marked another day of anti-ICE demonstrations near the Broadview facility.
Hundreds of people throughout the day could be seen rallying together, but authorities say at least four people were arrested for resisting and obstructing law enforcement.
Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth were turned away from trying to visit the Broadview facility on Friday.
And in a separate decision, a judge granted the village of Broadview’s temporary restraining order, calling for a fence, which was put up by federal agents and blocks a street near the facility, to come down. The government has until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday to take that fence down.
The faith community stepped off from St. Eulalia Catholic Church before heading to the Broadview facility. The goal is to attempt to deliver communion people who may be being held at the facility. Broadview’s mayor was also expected to walk.
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