Judge to hear arguments as advocates sue feds over conditions at Chicago-area ICE facility

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CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge is expected to hear arguments Tuesday after Illinois groups sued federal authorities last week for what they described as “inhumane” conditions at a Chicago-area immigration facility.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman called for a Tuesday morning hearing, acknowledging that the timeline was “rushed.” But at a Friday emergency hearing, he said, “the nature of the case and the request for relief requires immediate attention.”

As attorneys representing the federal government asked for more time to prepare, the plaintiffs’ lawyers called the situation in the west Chicago suburb of Broadview a “human rights emergency.”

Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the MacArthur Justice Center say detainees at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview were denied proper access to food, water and medical care. They also allege agents have denied people held at the facility private calls with attorneys and coerced them to sign paperwork they don’t understand, leading them to unknowingly relinquish their rights and face deportation.

Homeland Security Department officials have denied the allegations and argued that such claims have contributed to an increase in death threats against immigration officers.

On Friday, Gettleman ordered that the lead plaintiffs in the case be returned to the Chicago area “as quickly as possible” ahead of Tuesday's hearing. Attorneys representing the federal government said Pablo Moreno Gonzalez and Felipe Agustin Zamacona — both Mexican immigrants who’ve lived in the U.S. for over 30 years and were detained by ICE and held at the Broadview facility in October — had been moved Friday morning from the Broadview facility.

For months advocates have raised concerns about conditions at the facility, which has drawn scrutiny from members of Congress, political candidates and activist groups. Lawyers and relatives of people held there have called it a de facto detention center, saying up to 200 people have been held at a time without access to legal counsel.

The Broadview center has also drawn demonstrations, leading to the arrests of numerous protesters. The demonstrations are at the center of a separate lawsuit from a coalition of news outlets and protesters who claim federal agents violated their First Amendment rights by repeatedly using tear gas and other weapons on them.