Authorities arrested 21 protesters Friday and said four officers were injured outside a Chicago-area federal immigration facility that activists say functions as a de facto detention center and is plagued by inhumane conditions. The Cook County Sheriff's Office said most faced charges of obstruction, disorderly conduct, and walking on a highway. One also faced a charge of mob action, the AP reports. Their ages ranged from 23 to 67.
The office said the four officers were injured while trying to redirect protesters off a roadway and back behind a barrier. Two Broadview police officers and one Cook County Sheriff's Police officer were taken to a hospital. The Sheriff's Police officer sustained a leg injury and was treated and released. The Broadview Police Department said its officers' injuries were not life threatening. An Illinois state trooper was treated at the scene. Moments before the clash, demonstrators were singing and chanting. Around 10am, a large group of protesters, knowing they were going to be arrested, crossed the protest barrier and attempted to walk up toward the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, police said.
Some protesters carried signs reading, "God's Love Knows No Borders" and "God Demands Freedom." Some of them prayed. The crowd numbered about 300 before it began to disperse. The site in Broadview, Illinois, has seen frequent protests, particularly on Fridays, against a federal immigration enforcement operation. It has led to more than 3,200 arrests in the Chicago metropolitan area since September of people suspecting of violating immigration laws. The tactics used by agents from Customs and Border Protection and ICE have repeatedly baeen opposed through legal challenges as well as street protests.
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