Illinois members of Congress are latest to tour immigration facilities after judge’s ruling

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)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs announced Monday they will leave their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new, domed stadium that will be built across the Kansas-Missouri state line and be ready for the start of the 2031 season.

The announcement came shortly after a council of Kansas lawmakers voted unanimously inside a packed room at the state Capitol to allow for STAR bonds to be issued to cover up to 70% of the cost of the stadium and accompanying mixed-use district.

The bonds will be paid off with state sales and liquor tax revenues generated in a defined area around it.

“The location of Chiefs games will change,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said, “but some things won't change. Our fans will still be the loudest in the NFL, our games will still be the best place in the world to tailgate, and our players and coaches will be ready to compete for championships, because on the field or off the field, we are big dreamers, and we're ready for the next chapter.”

The Chiefs intend to build their new stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, near the Kansas Speedway and a retail and entertainment district known as The Legends. The area is also home to Children's Mercy Park, the home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City.

The team will build a new practice facility, too, in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas.

“Today's announcement is truly historic. Actually, it's a little surreal,” Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said. “Today's announcement will touch the lives of Kansans for generations to come. Today's announcement is a total game-changer for our state.

“We have always been Chiefs fans,” Kelly said. “Now we are Chiefs family.”

The move by the Chiefs is a massive blow to Missouri lawmakers and Gov. Mike Kehoe, who had been working on their own funding package to prevent a third NFL franchise and the second in a decade from leaving its borders. The Rams left St. Louis for Los Angeles in part due to their inability to secure funding to help replace The Dome at America’s Center.

Kehoe had backed a special legislative session in June to authorize bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.

“For more than 50 years, we’ve had tremendous partnerships in Jefferson City, Jackson County and Kansas City, Missouri,” Hunt said. “That partnership is not over and we look forward to working together in the years ahead.”

The Chiefs originally planned an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium in a joint effort with the Royals, who are similarly planning to build a new facility to replace Kauffman Stadium. The facilities sit a couple of hundred yards across the parking lot from each other, and both teams have leases with Jackson County, Missouri, that expire in January 2031.

Last year, Jackson County voters soundly defeated a local sales tax extension which would have helped to pay for those renovations to the football stadium while helping to fund a new ballpark for the Royals in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

The Royals were not discussed by Kansas lawmakers Monday, but momentum appears to be building behind their own move across the state line. An affiliate of the club already has purchased the mortgage on a tract of land in Overland Park, Kansas.

“While the Chiefs aren’t going far away and aren’t gone yet, today is a setback as a Kansas Citian, a former Chiefs season ticket-holder and lifelong Chiefs fan,” said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. “Business decisions are a reality and we all understand that, but Arrowhead Stadium is more — it’s family, tradition and a part of Kansas City we will never leave.”

Hunt has long said his preference was to renovate Arrowhead Stadium, which was beloved by his father and team founder, the late Lamar Hunt. It is considered one of the jewels of the NFL, alongside Lambeau Field in Green Bay, and is revered for its tailgating scene and home-field advantage; it currently holds the Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium roar.

This summer, Arrowhead Stadium will host six World Cup matches, including matches in the Round of 32 and quarterfinals.

Lamar Hunt established the Chiefs on August 14, 1959. The team was originally based in Dallas and known as the Texans, but Hunt was convinced by then-Kansas City Mayor H. Roe Bartle to relocate the team to Missouri with promises of tripling the team's season-ticket sales and expanding the seating capacity of Municipal Stadium.

In 1972, the team moved into Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex just east of downtown Kansas City.

The stadium has undergone numerous renovations through the years, allowing it to stay relevant in a changing sports landscape. But there has been little economic development around the stadium, the facility itself is starting to show wear and tear, and there is a limit to the number of luxury suites and amenities that the franchise can utilize to help drive revenue.

While the Hunt family has long loved Arrowhead Stadium, it has warmed in recent years to the idea of a replacement.

Not only would it solve many of the shortcomings of the Chiefs' longtime home, a new facility with a fixed or retractable roof would allow them to use it year-round. That would mean the potential for hosting more concerts and events, college football bowl games, the Final Four and perhaps one of Lamar Hunt's long-held dreams: a Super Bowl.

“Chiefs fans on both sides of the state line can tell you that the success we've enjoyed together has elevated the profile of the entire region,” Clark Hunt said. “Sports are women into the fabric of this community. If you travel and go to New York or Los Angeles or Europe or South America, you don't have to tell people which side of the state line you're from. You tell them you're from Kansas City, and there's a pretty good chance their response might have something to do with the Chiefs.”

Hanna reported from Topeka. Skretta reported from Kansas City, Missouri.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, confers with members of the Legislature's staff before a meeting of legislative leaders to review a proposal for issuing bonds to help the Kansas City Chiefs build a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt watches the start of a meeting of legislative leaders who had the power to decide whether the state issues bonds to help the Chiefs finance a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)