For Immediate Release Contact:
10 February 2026 David Ormsby, 312-342-9638
Thompson Urges Proviso Students to Hold Planned ICE Protest on School Grounds
BROADVIEW, IL — The Village of Broadview has learned that students from area high schools are planning a protest during school hours at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview on Wednesday morning, but Mayor Katrina Thompson, out of concern for student safety, is urging students to hold their protest on school grounds.
“Recent events have shown that ICE agents have become increasingly volatile and violent, even resorting to killing American citizens in broad daylight, so of course I am concerned about the safety of the students were they to protest in front of the ICE facility in Broadview,” said Thompson. “I want our students to use their voices and exercise their free speech, but I want them to do so where they are safe—within the protective confines of their own school grounds.”
In recent days, students from Proviso East High School, Proviso West High School, and the Proviso Math and Science Academy have been organizing the demonstration that is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, February 11, according to the mayor.
Thompson emphasized that while she shares the students' outrage regarding the earlier "Operation Midway Blitz" tactics and recent killings of American citizens in Minneapolis by ICE agents, the physical danger posed by federal law enforcement at the site is currently too high for a student-led demonstration.
Despite the Mayor’s warning, the Broadview Police Department is preparing for all contingencies should the students proceed with their plans to arrive at the 25th Avenue facility.
“If the students do choose to show up at the ICE facility, the Broadview Police Department and our regional law enforcement partners will be on-site to do everything within our power to protect them,” Thompson added. “We will work to ensure their safety and protect their right to peaceful assembly, but our primary hope is that they choose the safer path of protesting on campus.”