ICE Must Remove Fence It Built to Block Illinois Protesters (1)

Federal authorities must remove a fence built by ICE near a suburban Chicago immigration facility that has drawn repeated protests in recent weeks, a federal judge in Illinois said.

The fence went up after the protesters assembled outside the facility in Broadview, Ill., to voice their displeasure at Operation Midway Blitz, in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Chicagoland immigrants suspected of being in the US illegally. It’s part of President Donald Trump‘s overall effort to rid the country of illegal immigrants.

The facility is on a cul-de-sac and the fence blocks access to other buildings on the street. The Village of Broadview sued, claiming the fence built without notice on or around Sept. 23 was a public nuisance, its construction violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and was an impermissible ultra vires action.

In its complaint, the village said federal agencies have “willfully, recklessly, and routinely trampled over the rights of individual citizens and local governments, leaving a trail of damage and confusion in their wake.”

The protests at the ICE facility were lawful and “entirely foreseeable,” the village says, and the federal government refused to take down the fence despite being notified that it is occupying village property without permission.

In a response, the federal government said the temporary fence was erected to ensure the safety of agents targeted by protesters who have thrown rocks, slashed tires, and, in one instance, poured flour into a gas tank, according to a court filing from the Department of Homeland Security.

The department has a right to protect its buildings “including in areas outside its property if necessary,” the filing said.

Broadview is likely to win on the merits of its APA and ultra vires claims, Judge LaShonda A. Hunt of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said Thursday, granting the village’s request for a temporary restraining order.

Nothing in the Immigration and Nationality Act granted ICE authority to build the fence on a public street or commandeer municipal property indefinitely without local consent, Hunt said.

Protests at the Broadview facility were cited by the Trump administration to argue that National Guard troops should be deployed to Illinois. Attorneys for the administration, trying to counter a lawsuit from the state, argued that local law enforcement wasn’t doing enough to protect agents carrying out the immigration crackdown.

But on Thursday, Judge April Perry of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois noted that immigration agents’ tactics so far have only increased the risk of protests and that bringing in the Guard would likely only make things worse. Perry issued a temporary restraining order Thursday blocking the troops’ deployment.

Del Galdo Law Group LLC represents Broadview. The US Department of Justice represents ICE.

The case is Village of Broadview v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., N.D. Ill., No. 1:25-cv-12164, 10/9/25.