ICE ‘making war’ on Broadview, says mayor
- Staff Admin
- Sep 29
- 3 min read
Protests continue into weekend with pepper bullets and tear gas used against protesters
by Zoë Takaki September 29, 2025
Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson said in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday that ICE agents operating an immigrant detention center in her village “are making war on my community. And it has to stop.”
She reiterated Broadview’s demand that a security fence which extended the perimeter of the Beach Street facility be dismantled. She said that without a proper permit the fencing had been “illegally constructed.” Fire officials in Broadview said the fence would make it impossible for the department to access other buildings within the industrial area off of 25th Avenue.
The Sun-Times reported Sunday that federal agents had told Broadview police that “there would be a shitshow” at the facility in response to Thompson’s letter.
In her letter to Russell Holt, field office director for homeland security, the mayor wrote, “The relentless deployment of tear gas, pepper spray, mace, and rubber bullets in the vicinity of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in the Village of Broadview is endangering nearby village residents and harming Broadview police officers, Broadview firefighters, and American citizens exercising their 1st Amendment constitutional rights.”
Thompson wrote that the tear gas is impacting the Broadview police, firefighters, and ambulance personnel and preventing them from doing their jobs.
Maria, a Broadview resident since 1989, said in an interview with Growing Community Media, that as a Mexican American citizen who proudly has a Mexican flag on her car, having ICE agents so close to her home makes her feel “on edge.”
Maria said, “They (ICE) started off saying that this is based on getting the criminals. Okay, fine, get them out. We want to make everything safe and stuff like that, but you’re not doing that anymore. The agenda turned to something else.”
“The agenda became racial. It became the whole ‘you look a certain way. You’re getting taken in.’ It’s like, do I need to start walking around with my passport? I live here, and I’m constantly in this area,” she said. She did want her last name published.
“I would see things on the news and social media, and I was just like, ‘Wow, these protesters, they’re antagonizing these agents that are just trying to do their job.’ That’s how I was thinking at first,” said Maria.
“But then, an incident happened,” she said. Maria alleged that while driving in the neighborhood, an ICE vehicle cut her off and “swerved into me to put me into oncoming traffic. That just made me so mad. And next I came over here (to the Broadview protest) and was like ‘how can I help?’”
While she was at the Broadview detention center, she said, “I just started filming. I went live on Facebook and then started seeing other things. I started seeing how they (ICE) were just, you know, pushing their weight around, being aggressive.”
When asked about her community receiving national media attention, Maria said, “It’s kind of the wrong attention. … Now we’re Broadview, the place that had all the detainees and all that ICE stuff and everything. So that’s what I feel like we’re going to be known for, instead of something positive.”
Protests continued Saturday evening with continued provocations by ICE officers using tear gas and rubber bullets against protestors. At least one journalist was arrested and a Sun-Times journalist was hit with rubber projectiles and was teargassed, the newspaper reported on Sunday.
After ICE agents were spotted Friday on the Chicago River, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said, “This administration is only committed to intimidating people and working to strike fear into the hearts and into the minds of the people of this city.”
The processing center, which was originally a Federal Immigration Facility, is being used as a headquarters for operation Midway Blitz and has been the subject of continuous protests for at least two weeks.
Thompson told Holt in her letter that “Beleaguered Broadview residents are begging for relief from your center’s siege of our neighborhood. They are texting me. They are calling me. They are streaming into Village Hall looking for help.”
Thompson ended her letter saying, “As mayor, my governing approach is to deploy love and kindness to achieve Broadview’s objectives. You should try it. It cannot hurt. It might help.”
Thompson received largely positive responses from her constituents after the letter was posted on Facebook.
Karen Coley wrote, “So proud to be a part of this community. Mayor Katrina defines leadership and compassion for all!!! WE ARE BROADVIEW STRONG!”
Some complained about problems they have had since ICE has come into the Broadview community. Eric Tolley wrote, “The helicopters over my house is getting annoying.”
Elena Mtz Ruiz wrote, “I want to know if the village has taken DHS to court over the fence?”
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