ICE Shackled Detainees During Easter Religious Services, Citing Airport Staffing Needs

On Holy Thursday, clergy members entered the Broadview ICE processing center to offer Communion and wash the feet of detainees in observance of one of Christianity's most sacred rituals. What they found was migrants shackled at the ankles and handcuffed at the wrists while receiving religious ministry.

"For me, I'll be very honest with you, it was heartbreaking," wrote Rev. David Inczauskis in a court filing describing the scene. "It was heartbreaking to see these people wearing handcuffs and to see them also wearing shackles on their feet."

The clergy members had won temporary access to the facility through a federal court order issued by U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman, who ruled that the government cannot impose a blanket ban on religious ministry while a lawsuit proceeds. That lawsuit, filed in November by a coalition of faith leaders, argues that blocking clergy from the facility violates their constitutional right to practice their religion.

Staffing Shortages Blamed on Airport Deployments

When clergy asked why every detainee in the first group they ministered to was restrained, ICE staff apologized and cited short staffing. According to the plaintiffs' court filing, officials explained that "officers are being detailed to airports to support TSA" amid the partial government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding.

The shutdown, which began in February after President Trump demanded border wall money, has created massive security lines at airports including Chicago's O'Hare International. ICE officers have been redeployed to assist Transportation Security Administration screeners, even as Trump claimed last month to have issued an order paying TSA employees.

The clergy members questioned the necessity of the restraints in their report to the court: "What purpose did the handcuffs and shackles serve when there is a half door between the detainee and the clergy, and an ICE agent is by the detainee? The staff apologetically said it was due to short-staffing, but the effect was dehumanizing."

Ministry Under Restraint

Despite the shackles, clergy members conducted religious services throughout Holy Week, ministering to groups ranging from two to 15 detainees. They distributed prayer cards, sang hymns, and performed foot-washing ceremonies with people in chains. Some detainees had tears in their eyes during the services.

The Broadview facility has become a flashpoint in the administration's immigration enforcement operations. A separate class-action lawsuit filed shortly before the clergy case alleges widespread human rights violations at the processing center, claiming the Trump administration has turned it into a "black box" where immigration attorneys cannot visit clients amid overcrowding and substandard conditions.

Government Claims Processing Centers Are Different

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment on the shackling incident, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Terman wrote in a court filing that she is "working to understand why those restraints were used."

Government attorneys have argued that while they do not object to religious ministry in longer-term detention centers, processing centers like Broadview should be treated differently because they serve as temporary waypoints where "detainees are continuously brought in, processed, and transferred out."

"Religious organizations are more than welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities," DHS said in an earlier statement. "Even before the attacks on the Broadview facility, it was not within standard operating procedure for religious services to be provided in a field office."

That claim ignores the historical record. Attorneys for the clergy members argue that religious ministry was regular practice at Broadview before the Trump administration restricted access, and that the Holy Week visits demonstrated that ministry does not disrupt facility operations.

Settlement Talks Stalled

Judge Gettleman has urged both sides to reach a settlement that would allow ongoing clergy access consistent with past practice. But on Monday, the parties reported they had reached an impasse, potentially setting up a trial over whether the government can permanently bar religious leaders from ministering to people in immigration custody.

The agreed-upon procedure for Holy Week visits gave ICE officials discretion over whether individuals should be shackled. The clergy members found that discretion was exercised to restrain everyone, creating a scene where people received the sacraments in chains because officers were busy managing airport lines during a government shutdown over border wall funding.

The symbolism was not lost on the faith leaders. Holy Thursday commemorates Jesus washing the feet of his disciples as an act of humility and service. At Broadview, clergy members got on their knees to wash the feet of shackled migrants while ICE agents stood watch.