UN envoy for Cyprus pushes for trust-building measures ahead of talks

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A newly appointed U.N. envoy for Cyprus said Saturday she’ll work hard to ensure concrete progress in measures to build trust between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in hopes of reviving moribund talks to heal the island nation's half-century ethnic division.

Maria Angela Holguin said her weeklong stay in Cyprus aims to generate tangible results ahead of a July meeting in Geneva that will bring together U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, along with top diplomats from Greece, Turkey and the U.K.

Negotiations have been stalled since 2017.

Trust-building measures include talks on opening new crossing points along a 180-kilometer (120-mile) U.N. control buffer zone that divides a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north from a Greek Cypriot south, where the internationally-recognized government is seated.

Other measures that Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar agreed to implement in front of Guterres during a March meeting in Geneva included work on a photovoltaic park inside the buffer zone, demining and restoration work on cemeteries on either side of the divide.

Cyprus was split in 1974, when Turkey invaded following a coup by Athens junta-backed supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and maintains more than 35,000 troops in the island’s northern third.

Holguin said Guterres “continues to push” for a resumption of Cyprus peace talks. But that prospect faces a difficult hurdle in the form of Turkish and Turkish Cypriot insistence on a peace deal based on two equal states, instead of a federation composed of Greek and Turkish speaking zones that formed the basis of decades of U.N.-mediated negotiations.

While Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots say the federation idea is now bankrupt, Greek Cypriots say they won’t assent to any accord that formally partitions the island, allows for a permanent Turkish troop presence, gives Turkey rights to militarily intervene and offers the minority Turkish Cypriots a veto right on all government decisions.

Cyprus government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said despite any hurdles, the fact of Holguin’s appointment indicates that the U.N. consider the resumption of peace talks “completely feasible.”

U.N. chief's personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, left, and Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides talk during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

U.N. chief's personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, arrives for a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

U.N. chief's personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, arrives for a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

U.N. chief's personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar talks with the Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

U.N. chief's personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, left, talks with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

BROADVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Four Illinois Democrats toured a federal immigration center outside Chicago on Monday, the latest members of Congress allowed inside immigration facilities after a judge last week lifted Trump administration limits on lawmaker visits.

Six months after they were denied access, U.S. Reps. Danny Davis, Delia Ramirez, Jonathan Jackson and Jesús “Chuy” Garcia entered the immigration processing center in suburban Broadview. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, criticized as a de facto detention center with inhumane conditions, has been at the forefront of an immigration crackdown resulting in more than 4,000 arrests in the Chicago area.

The Associated Press observed the lawmakers enter the boarded-up brick building after talking to a masked official at the door and then leave about an hour later.

“We wanted to test whether or not there would be a violation of a court order reaffirming that we have the right to be here at any time for any reason, without advance notice,” Garcia said afterward.

A federal judge last week temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.

After their visit, the Illinois lawmakers reported that Monday seemed like an atypical day with only two people in custody. A day earlier there had been 20, according to Garcia.

During the height of the immigration crackdown dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” more than 150 people were held at the facility, many for several days at a time, according to congressmen, attorneys and activists. Conditions at the center, where immigrants are processed for detention or deportation, prompted numerous complaints, a lawsuit and a court-ordered visit by a judge. Illinois does not have an immigration detention center.

Since then, immigration officials have said they've made changes and those held at the Broadview center have access to hot meals and legal counsel, among other things. ICE has rejected claims that the processing center is used for detention.

While the Illinois Democrats noted improvements, they raised concerns about toilets without adequate privacy, few showers, and no medical staff on site.

“This visit will not end our responsibility. We will follow up,” Jackson said. “We will be back and we’ll demand answers.”

Ramirez said not having a medical professional nearby was troubling, especially after the death of a 56-year-old man found unresponsive at an ICE facility in Michigan. Nenko Gantchev of Bulgaria was arrested in the Chicago area crackdown. ICE officials said it appeared he died of natural causes on Dec. 15, but the official cause remained under investigation.

Since the ruling, House members elsewhere have also visited ICE facilities.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, gained access to the Broadview facility on Friday and reported the practice of holding people overnight seemed to have ended for the time being. He said he had tried multiple times to visit over the past few months.

In California, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez visited a federal immigration facility in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. The Democrat, among the 12 lawmakers who sued, said there was no working kitchen, no on-site medical staff and limited food options, according to a statement.

In New York, U.S. Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, both Democrats who also sued, visited an ICE holding facility on Friday at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City. In a joint statement, the congressmen said immigrants were being held for as long as three days without access to showers and proper beds.

“The Trump administration’s obsession with hitting an arbitrary — and unrealistic — number of deportations is creating a humanitarian crisis,” Espaillat said.

In Illinois, the Trump administration has kept strict controls on access to the Broadview facility, barring attorneys, family members of those arrested and journalists. At one point federal authorities built a fence around the building as protests grew and clashes with federal agents intensified.

Separately, U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois said she was allowed to visit the Broadview facility late last month. Underwood, a Democratic member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, raised concerns about conditions, staffing and record keeping. She said no arrestees were present during her visit “due to a scheduled security system video camera update.”

A message left Monday for ICE wasn't immediately returned.

Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., prepare to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)

Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., prepare to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)

Four Illinois members of Congress Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)

Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., are allowed to enter the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)

Four Illinois members of Congress left to right; Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., and Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., leave after a visit to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Sophia Tareen)