Gettleman Directs ICE to Allow Clergy Access to Broadview on Ash Wednesday

Judge Robert W. Gettleman (N.D. Ill.) granted in part the preliminary-injunction motion of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, the Catholic clergy group suing over its exclusion from the ICE Broadview processing facility. His memorandum opinion found that the plaintiffs had shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their RFRA claim, and ordered ICE to let them in on Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026, to offer ashes and Communion to anyone who wanted them.

The opinion records how the exclusion was justified. Defendants told the plaintiffs that the Broadview office is not a detention facility. The court answered the claim that the restriction was only temporary: the plaintiffs had been denied access to Broadview for over five months. On the statutory test the government must meet once a substantial burden is shown, the court noted that defendants offered no arguments on these RFRA exceptions. The order stopped short of opening the facility generally. It directed the parties to meet and confer about ministry after Ash Wednesday, including personal contact with detainees and prayer outside the facility within view of them.

A supplemental order the same day set the terms of the visit after the afternoon hearing. It capped the delegation at four visitors, absent agreement of the parties, and provided that no detainee will be required to participate in Ash Wednesday services. Visitors were to undergo the standard background check and security protocol.

This is the opening order in the sequence that runs from the clergy’s November 2025 complaint to court-ordered daily access. Both orders are on RECAP.

Sources

• Memorandum Opinion and Order, via RECAP: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.490229/gov.uscourts.ilnd.490229.26.0_1.pdf
• Supplemental Order, via RECAP: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.490229/gov.uscourts.ilnd.490229.28.0.pdf
• Docket: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71934446/coalition-for-spiritual-and-public-leadership-v-noem/