Duckworth Joins Durbin, Ramirez, Members of the Illinois Delegation in Requesting Meeting with ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott

Duckworth Joins Durbin, Ramirez, Members of the Illinois Delegation in Requesting Meeting with ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL-03) and all Democratic members of the Illinois delegation in requesting ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott promptly schedule a meeting with them to discuss the implementation of "Operation Midway Blitz" and oversight of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Broadview Processing Facility. The letter comes after members of the Delegation have been barred from conducting oversight at Broadview despite repeated attempts to schedule a visit.

"Oversight of this facility is desperately needed as legal service providers and our constituents have raised concerns about the poor conditions at Broadview. These reports allege unsanitary bathroom facilities; spreading illness; continued overcrowding; detainees sleeping on the floor or in chairs; a lack of access to food, water or hygiene products; restricted communications to family members and attorneys; and an inability to access medication," wrote the lawmakers.

The request for the meeting comes after Durbin and Ramirez's offices communicated to ICE on September 16, 2025, that Illinois's Delegation Members intended to conduct oversight at Broadview Processing Facility on September 23, 2025. The offices followed ICE's new guidance and gave notice of this visit seven days in advance. ICE, nevertheless, responded that ICE's Enforcement & Removal Operations (ERO) Chicago Office would be unable to support a visit.

Though ICE agreed to a subsequent meeting with Delegation Members in lieu of a visit to the facility on September 26, 2025, ICE has now postponed that meeting to an unconfirmed date in October. ICE continues to bar the Delegation's access to Broadview, despite Congress's inherent authority to conduct oversight of ICE facilities.

In the letter, the members also included a list of questions to be answered by DHS at the forthcoming meeting.

In addition to Duckworth, Durbin and Ramirez, the letter was co-signed by U.S. Representatives Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL-04), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) and Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17).

Full text of the letter is available on Senator Duckworth's website.

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