A protester poses for a picture in front of pink and purple dildos around a “FUCK ICE” chalk drawing inside the designated protest zone. Broadview, IL, 4/4/26.

By Dominic Guanzon

Saturday, 4/4/26

BROADVIEW, IL – As about 25 protesters continued their weekly noon demonstration on Beach Street – this time with a crude and eye-catching twist – clergy from the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) were again allowed into the ICE Staging Area/de facto detention center for spiritual counseling.

The CSPL delegation returns from the ICE facility, as seen through metal barricades. Broadview, IL, 4/4/26.

A 3/31 preliminary injunction from a federal judge ruled the religious rights of detainees were being violated, forcing DHS to allow the CSPL delegation inside. There, the multi-denominational Christian group said they offered communion, read scripture, blessed holy water, and provided words of comfort to two out of the three detainees they reported within.

During a media scrum, Sr. Carol Crepeau described the process of what she and the CSPL delegation saw upon entering.

“We only got in the vestibule, and then down the long hallway, and there’s a door that’s divided into two parts. So [the federal agents] opened the top part of the door, and the men that were detained were on one side, and we stood on the other side. So we didn’t really see the building except the entrance.”

“There are only three residents right now in the entire building,” she continued. “Two young men came down…Neither one of them felt worthy to receive communion, which is really heartbreaking…The younger man kept looking at his handcuffs and his shackles, and I think they couldn’t believe [what was happening]. They were rattled.”

CSPL volunteers wait on chairs they brought with them while holding rosaries and bibles. Broadview, IL, 4/4/26.

Members of the CSPL delegation, Deacon Maximino Montalvo Jr. (left) and Fr. Dennis Berry (right). Broadview, IL, 4/4/26.

Meanwhile, a decentralized group of protesters gathered once more to “show they weren’t afraid” after enduring three back-to-back weekends of arrests by the Unified Command. The group stuck to the designated protest zone to yell at passing Broadview PD and ICE vehicles.

“You know your government name is on your paystubs, right?” A protester said plainly on megaphone to a masked federal agent walking up to the front door of the facility. “There are records of all that. There will be trials.”

A dildo is attached to a STOP sign on Beach St. The sign has also been defaced with various leftist and anti-Trump stickers. Broadview, IL, 4/4/26.

Protesters film promo videos for social media with a Gregory Bovino piñata. Broadview, IL, 4/4/26.

Next Saturday, 4/11, the protesters plan on staging a demonstration centered around a dildo theme. They were seen filming promos featuring juggling dildos and a Gregory Bovino piñata with a dildo in its mouth.

The clergy, who arrived at 3PM, didn’t comment on the spectacle just a few feet away from them, but were observed chuckling to themselves at times. Some protesters, who were happy to wave their artificial members at law enforcement, sheepishly hid them in the presence of the large Virgin Mary statue that was carried in by the delegation, before continuing.

A Cook County sheriff holds a Virgin Mary statue as the CSPL delegation awaits word of their passage. Broadview, IL, 4/4/26.

During further remarks, Sr. Crepeau described the general conditions as “clean,” and did not witness any harsh words or violence from federal agents, “other than the violence of being detained.”

“The harshness is still that you’re in shackles,” said Rev. Juan Pablo Herrera, “You’re in handcuffs. You’re told to stand at the wall. Little things that are still dehumanizing.”

“[The two detainees] really didn’t know what was happening, exactly,” commented Fr. Dennis Berry, holding the large Virgin Mary statue from its base. “They said they had no idea what was going to happen next, and they really didn’t have anyone to talk to about it. To understand the situation.”

Fr. Berry mentioned the agents did try to accommodate them once they were actually inside.

“It’s the minimum that they can do on Holy Week,” said Rev. Herrera. “Absolute minimum.”

As of the evening of 4/5, the CSPL delegation has successfully sent in a delegation every day since Holy Thursday through Easter.

A protester with wears a camo jacket with the words “FUCK MIEF CHILLS” (a play on “fuck [BPD’s] Chief Mills”) on it. It has been autographed by various rock and punk bands. Broadview, IL, 4/4/26.