On Monday morning, a group of Democratic Illinois lawmakers made it inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview after months of being denied access.

U.S. Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García, Danny Davis, Delia Ramirez and Jonathan Jackson arrived carrying a federal court order confirming that members of Congress cannot be blocked from conducting oversight at immigration detention facilities.

Their entry followed an attempt in June, when the same members of Congress showed up unannounced to inspect conditions but were turned away despite identifying themselves with official congressional credentials.

This time, the doors opened.

“It is despicable that it took six months for us to finally get in,” Ramirez said.

The west suburban processing center was designed to hold people for no more than 12 hours before transferring them to a formal immigration detention facility. But after President Donald Trump this year ramped up his immigration crackdown across Chicago, arrestees were being warehoused at the center for days on end.

In October, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman ordered ICE to improve sanitation conditions and ensure detainees had access to their lawyers after determining conditions inside were “unnecessarily cruel.”

The Democratic lawmakers were the latest representatives allowed inside the facility since a federal judge Dec. 17 affirmed that lawmakers must be allowed access to provide oversight. On Dec. 19, U.S Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, also a Democrat, also conducted an oversight visit at the Broadview facility.

The lawmakers were not allowed to bring any staff members or media representatives with them. Jackson said that during Monday’s visit, only two detainees were present inside the facility.

“I could feel in my soul, here in my own mind, that these were people that had been kidnapped, abducted,” Jackson said, describing the experience of walking through the facility.

The lawmakers said the conditions they observed would not be suitable if the facility were operating with a higher number of detainees. They criticized the layout and resources inside, noting the center has only three bathrooms for up to 80 people or more, with toilets located inside holding cells and no separation or privacy. They also had concerns about the lack of on-site medical staff.

While the number of detainees at Broadview has declined in recent weeks, ICE and Customs and Border Protection have renewed enforcement operations in and around Chicago, highlighted by the return last week of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino. More than 4,300 were detained during this fall’s two-month Operation Midway Blitz and the federal government maintains immigration enforcement is ongoing.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration agreed to extend a temporary restraining order requiring improved conditions inside the processing center.

Gettleman’s order required ICE to provide clean bedding and adequate sleeping space for overnight holds, showers at least every other day, clean toilet facilities, three full meals per day, bottled water with each meal, hygiene supplies, menstrual products and prescribed medications. The order also required holding cells to be cleaned at least twice daily and guaranteed detainees free, private phone calls with their attorneys.

The restraining order had been set to expire Dec. 17 but will now remain in place until April, when Gettleman will hold a hearing to determine whether a longer-term injunction is necessary.

In court filings, attorneys for the Trump administration argued “this case is moot,” saying the conditions that prompted the lawsuit no longer exist because the number of people processed at Broadview has dropped significantly since Bovino and most of his agents left Chicago for operations in other cities.

They also claimed the federal government is already complying with the restraining order.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys strongly disagreed, arguing that ICE continues to violate parts of the court order despite the reduced population at the facility, including access for attorneys to go inside and speak to their clients.

After completing their oversight visit, the lawmakers joined immigrant advocates outside the facility to report their findings and answer questions from the media. García said the visit did not mark the end of congressional scrutiny.

“Our visit does not end our responsibility,” García said, promising the group would return to Broadview. “Where the law has been violated, we will insist on accountability. Oversight means consequences, not just reports. Transparency is not a threat to the government, accountability is not optional, and no human dignity is negotiable.”

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