I thought this administration was all about protecting the religious freedoms of Christians
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2025 6:27 am
Maybe that only applies to Christians in other countries?
Religious leaders' request to give communion to detainees at Broadview facility is denied again
A group of religious leaders tried once again Saturday to provide Holy Communion to detainees in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview and were turned away a second time, three weeks after a similar request was denied.
The Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership organized the Mass — which fell on All Saints Day, a Christian holiday to celebrate saints and a holy day of obligation for Catholics — with hopes to gain entry to the ICE facility to offer detainees communion. Organizers said they followed Department of Homeland Security protocol and formally requested access more than one week ahead of the Mass and emailed and hand-delivered a second letter on Thursday. The request was denied, according to a statement from the village of Broadview. No reason was given.
In a statement to the Sun-Times, a DHS spokesperson said any request to tour its facilities must be approved by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and that requests “should be made with sufficient time to prevent interference” with the president’s authority to oversee executive department functions.
“A week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the president’s constitutional authority,” the DHS spokesperson said, not elaborating on why Saturday’s request was denied despite more than a week’s notice given. The spokesperson also noted increases in obstruction to immigration enforcement.
As the Catholic leaders conducted Mass outside the facility, federal immigration agents periodically drove past, at one point drawing some in the crowd to shout, “Shame!”
A small group of federal agents dressed in military uniforms stood chatting outside the boarded-up, brick facility as more than 1,000 people gathered in designated protest areas outside a nearby business for the Mass.
Two coach buses with tinted windows later left the detention center, but it wasn’t clear who it was carrying or where it was headed.
Michael Okińczyc-Cruz, the coalition’s executive director, said the group has made several attempts to speak with DHS and ICE officials but were turned down.
“We have tried to follow every channel possible that DHS and ICE publicly shares, but we’ve been denied time and time again,” Okińczyc-Cruz said. “We are here today to continue knocking on ICE’s doors, proclaiming that our sisters and brothers deserve their pastoral care and affirms their God-given dignity, and reminds us all that love is stronger than fear.”
Toward the end of the Mass, a few faith leaders, including Sister JoAnn Persch, walked toward the detention center to again request entry. They met with an Illinois State Police trooper, who called the facility to relay the request.
“The officer sincerely tried. The answer was no,” Persch told those gathered.
Joined by hundreds of people, the group previously attempted to provide communion to those inside the detention center on Oct. 11 and were denied. DHS eventually cited the need for a one-week notice.
Persch, 91, started visiting the ICE facility in Broadview with the late Sister Pat Murphy in 2006 to pray for the immigrants inside, their families and the ICE officers. Their visits inside the building later became a weekly practice, but their relationship with ICE frayed this year as President Donald Trump ramped up his deportation campaign in the Chicago area.
“It breaks my heart because we were allowed to go in … and pray and talk with them, work with the families. And now, they won’t even acknowledge us,” Persch told the Sun-Times.
