Two dozen demonstrators were arrested outside a federal detention center in Broadview this morning, minutes after they halted a government van carrying immigrants marked for deportation.
Officers took the demonstrators into custody, one by one, as the crowd of supporters cheered and chanted "no deportations today."
As they were escorted to squad cars from Broadview, Maywood and Westchester, each demonstrator urged Congress and the Obama administration to deal with immigration reforms.
"There is now a racial reign of terror spreading across the country and it has to be stopped," said Joshua Hoyt, director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and one of the people arrested.
Earlier, about two dozen demonstrators sat in the street outside the detention center and chanted "Illinois is not Arizona" as they planted themselves in front of a van carrying undocumented immigrants.
The protestors had hoped to stop a federal van headed to O'Hare International Airport for a flight out of the country but wound up stopping a Kenosha County van headed back to Wisconsin.
After about 15 minutes, the van backed up and headed back into the detention center.
The standoff this morning is part of the escalating anger among immigrant communities over a law passed in Arizona that, among other things, allows local police to ask for proof of legal residence.
The protesters in the street -- part of a crowd of more than 100 people who camped overnight outside the center -- said they were ready to be arrested over their frustration at deportations throughout the country.
"We have to escalate to another level (of demonstrations) because they have forced us," said Fabian Morales, a principal organizer of a planned immigration march on Saturday that is expected to draw several thousand demonstrators.
The van that returned to the center belonged to the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department in Wisconsin and was carrying two detainees not being deported back to the county's jail, said ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro.
The agency "respects the fundamental right of individuals to protest," she said in a statement. "However, despite the recent protests, ICE agents continued their operations as planned."
She said 67 Mexican nationals were deported today.
All 24 protesters were issued with citations for disorderly conduct and are expected in court on May 24.
"It was very peaceful," said Broadview Police Chief Ray Pelletier.
He said the misdemeanor could mean a fine of up to $750.
-- Antonio Olivo (Source: Chicago Breaking News)
