ICE must allow Communion, distribution of ashes at Illinois detention center, judge says

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois, must accommodate Catholic clergy who wish to provide detainees with ashes and Communion on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, according to a federal court ruling.

Judge Robert W. Gettleman issued the Feb. 12 order in favor of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), a nonprofit that helps facilitate Catholic services at ICE facilities among other initiatives. Its mission is rooted in liberation theology and focused on economic, environmental, racial, and social justice.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which operates ICE, denied repeated requests to administer the sacraments at the Broadview facility, including when clergy sought to bring Communion and pastoral care to immigration detainees on Christmas.

“The whole world has seen the injustices of our federal immigration system,” Father Leandro Fossá, CS, a member of the CSPL Clergy Council, said in a statement.

“We are eager to see how the federal government responds to the injunction and restores the fundamental religious rights of people in detention to receive pastoral visits, rights that had been honored previously,” he said.

The order states that the government has substantially burdened the religious exercise of the clergy and that there is no compelling government interest to justify that burden. The judge cited the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

“Allowing plaintiffs to provide pastoral care to migrants and detainees will improve the condition of those detained at Broadview,” the judge’s order states.

The judge ordered the government to permit ashes and Communion for Ash Wednesday and to coordinate with CSPL to establish an appropriate safety and security protocol. The order directs them to also meet and confer about future religious ministry at the facility.

Father Dan Hartnett, SJ, a member of the CSPL Clergy Council, expressed hope that this ruling will set a trend.

“The collective voices and faithful witness of Catholics and Christians in Chicago and across the country are making an impact,” he said. “As Lent begins, we pray this ruling restores religious freedom for those detained and moves our country closer to justice in honoring the dignity of all migrants.”

Pope Leo XIV said in November 2025 the spiritual rights of migrants in detention must be considered.

According to an CSPL statement, the nonprofit is awaiting a response from ICE about coordinating the Ash Wednesday services. Both priests and religious sisters are expected to visit the Broadview facility.

Neither ICE nor DHS immediately responded to a request for comment.

The Broadview facility is an ICE field office used to process detainees before being transferred to a detention center. Although detainees are only meant to be held there for a few hours, with the maximum being 72 hours, some alleged last year that they were held there for several days and even up to one week.

A large outdoor Mass with Scalabrinian Missionaries is set for Ash Wednesday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Melrose Park, led by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago. It will be followed by a procession through the Melrose Park community as participants say the rosary and sing as a sign of the Church’s presence and solidarity with immigrant families.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/broadview-court-order