Nearly two dozen people including many faith leaders were arrested outside the Broadview ICE facility in Illinois this week after a tense standoff with federal officers, marking the latest flashpoint in a series of confrontations between clergy demonstrators and law enforcement under President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown.
Clergy representing Catholic, Jewish, Episcopal and interfaith coalitions gathered Friday morning to demand an end to workplace raids and mass detentions. The protest escalated when officers ordered the group to disperse; several faith leaders refused, kneeling in the street in prayer before being taken into custody, according to Reuters. Organizers say at least one of the arrestees was a 72-year-old priest who has participated in immigration vigils for more than a decade.
The arrests come just weeks after a separate incident in Chicago in which a Methodist minister was struck in the head by a pepper-ball projectile during a police response to a protest outside a migrant intake center. Earlier this fall, a group of faith leaders including priests and nuns were detained after being refused admission inside to administer communion, an essential element of a Catholic’s faith life. Immigrant-rights groups say the pattern reflects a broader escalation in the policing of clergy-led actions, many of which have historically been peaceful.
Legal experts note that faith-led protests often invoke First Amendment protections for both free exercise of religion and free assembly, making these clashes particularly sensitive. While authorities argue that restrictions are tied to safety and facility security, civil liberties groups warn that aggressive enforcement, especially when directed at clergy, can have a chilling effect on religious and political expression.
ICE officials said the Broadview arrests occurred only after “multiple lawful orders were ignored.” Organizers counter that civil disobedience is central to their mission and vowed to continue holding weekly vigils outside the facility, calling the arrests a sign that we are in “a spiritual emergency.”
