U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday requiring federal immigration authorities to immediately improve conditions at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, after hearing testimony describing what he called “unnecessarily cruel” treatment of detainees.
The order, issued at 4:15 p.m. on November 5, 2025, mandates sweeping changes to address overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and denial of legal access at the suburban Chicago detention center. The order remains in effect until November 19, when another status hearing is scheduled.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Pablo Moreno Gonzalez and Felipe Agustin Zamacona, detailed deplorable conditions at the facility that was originally designed to hold people for approximately 12 hours but has been keeping detainees for days at a time.
Testimony revealed that single-occupancy cells were holding as many as seven people, with estimates of 150 to 170 people packed into holding rooms. Former detainees described being forced to sleep shoulder-to-shoulder on concrete floors next to overflowing toilets, with no room to lie down properly.
In his opening remarks, the judge went so far as to compare descriptions of inoperable showers at the facility to conditions at concentration camps, stating “One is reminded of Auschwitz.”
According to testimony, detainees were denied access to beds, blankets, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and adequate food and water. The facility lacks operational showers and a cafeteria.
Felipe Agustin Zamacona, 47, testified that he tried to drink water from a sink but it “tasted like sewer”. He described being held with approximately 150 other people in cramped conditions without basic hygiene supplies.
Pablo Moreno Gonzalez, 56, who has lived in the United States for approximately 32 years, broke down in tears on the witness stand describing the conditions. “It was just really bad… It was just too much,” he testified through an interpreter.
Ruben Torres Maldonado testified that detainees filled water bottles and placed them on their necks to keep their heads from touching filth-covered cement floors while sleeping.
Claudia Carolina Pereira Guevara, testifying via videoconference from Honduras after being deported, recounted spending five days at Broadview in October. She said detainees had to use garbage bags to unclog overflowing toilets and received no cleaning supplies.
Detainees reported receiving only two to three cold sandwiches per day with limited water, regardless of medical or dietary needs. One attorney noted that her 70-year-old diabetic client with high cholesterol and blood pressure was offered only sandwiches at every meal. Another detainee said his religious dietary restrictions were ignored, leaving him without food for nearly four days.
The lawsuit alleges that detainees were denied access to prescribed medications they had in their possession when arrested, and that family members and attorneys were blocked from delivering medications.
Attorneys alleged that the facility operates as a “black box” or “black site” where detainees cannot communicate with legal counsel. Phone calls with attorneys are limited, monitored, and not private, violating attorney-client privilege.
The lawsuit claims immigration officials coerced detainees into signing voluntary deportation papers without understanding what they were agreeing to, and without access to legal representation.
Zamacona testified that an immigration agent tried to trick him into signing voluntary deportation papers by calling them “court papers” after Zamacona said he wanted to see a judge. Zamacona, who completed high school and some college in Chicago and could read English, recognized the forms said “self-deportation” and refused to sign. “My whole life is here,” he explained.
Attorney Kevin Herrera testified that one of his clients ended up signing a voluntary deportation form after being transferred from Broadview to Indiana, which Herrera blamed on ICE preventing him from speaking with the client while at Broadview.
During proceedings, plaintiffs’ attorneys requested video footage from inside the facility to document conditions. Trump administration lawyers revealed that approximately 10 days of footage from October 19-31 had been deleted—a period that covered when several plaintiffs were detained at Broadview.
Government attorneys claimed the footage was deleted while attempting to retrieve video for a different lawsuit.
Judge Gettleman’s temporary restraining order requires defendants—including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and other federal officials—to immediately provide:
- Clean bedding mats with sufficient space for each detainee held overnight
- Hold rooms cleaned at least twice daily
- Clocks displaying time and date in each hold room
- Adequate supplies of soap, towels, toilet paper, oral hygiene products, and menstrual products
- Showers at least every other day
- Clean toilet facilities
- Three full meals per day meeting U.S. recommended dietary allowances
- Bottled water with each meal and upon request free of charge
- Access to prescribed medications, including those in detainees’ possession when arrested
- Free, private telephone services to communicate with attorneys
- Protection of attorney-client privilege
- Lists of pro bono attorneys in English and Spanish upon arrival, with interpreter services
- Accurate listing of all detainees on ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System
- Truthful representation of any papers provided to detainees
- Spanish translations of all papers with reasonable time to read and understand them
The judge ordered Trump administration attorneys to provide a status report by noon on Friday, November 7, detailing their efforts to comply with the order.
