Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Lawsuit Update: Agreement Reached With Federal Government for Daily Pastoral Access At Broadview ICE Facility
Faith leaders began daily visits Friday, May 15, 2026
Daily pastoral visits to the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview began Friday, May 15 under a landmark agreement between faith and grassroots community leaders of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
“This agreement represents a recognition of the human dignity and basic human rights of our detained sisters and brothers,” said CSPL Executive Director, Michael N. Okińczyc-Cruz.
The agreement took effect Thursday, May 14 and results from a nearly 10-months-long pastoral care organizing campaign and lawsuit filed in November by CSPL and other faith leaders. The agreement is not permanent and the Court requested a status update in July, however it does permit unprecedented daily access inside the facility.
Under the agreed protocols for pastoral care, Catholic and interfaith leaders will provide spiritual care once a day. This includes bringing the Sacraments and other religious items approved beforehand.
On Sunday, a pastoral delegation provided religious services to 12 detainees at Broadview. One detainee, facing deportation, expressed his gratitude for the visit and said, “Me siento como a volver a vivir,” which loosely translates to a feeling of being brought back to life.
Father Paul Keller, CMF, the Provincial for the Claretian Missionaries and a member of the CSPL Clergy Council, visited the facility Friday. “To my mind, it’s emergency room treatment,” he said. “Someone is there right when the trauma has happened to attend to the immediate emotional and spiritual wounds.”
For Catholics, pastoral care is a lifeline. This belief is what led the group to file the federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security in November. They won temporary access on Ash Wednesday and during Holy Week, including the sacrament of washing the feet of detainees on Holy Thursday and providing pastoral care on Easter.
See the full timeline of CSPL's pastoral care campaign and the lawsuit here.
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About the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership: CSPL is a Catholic and Christian rooted community organizing coalition of over 60 parishes, universities and community organizations that labors to transform racial, economic, social and environmental systemic structures through grassroots coalition building, community organizing, and liberative formation. More at csplaction.org.
Spokespeople:
Father David Inczauskis, SJ - Jesuits and CSPL Clergy Council
Fr Paul Keller, CMF - Provincial for the Claretian Missionaries, CSPL Clergy Council
Father Dan Hartnett, SJ - Jesuits and CSPL Clergy Council
Sister Christin Tomy, OP - Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa and Dominican University, CSPL women's religious council
Fr. Leandro Fossa, CS - Scalabrinian and Pastor at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Michael N. Okińczyc-Cruz - CSPL Executive Director
Press Release and Image (2025) from CSPL -
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