Pope Leo XIV urged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to respect the spiritual rights of individuals in ICE detention after Catholic clergy members said they were prohibited from giving Communion to immigrants at a Chicago-area facility.

On Nov. 1, ICE officials refused to let a group of clergy members led by Bishop José María Garcia-Maldonado, of the Archdiocese of Chicago, bring Communion to detained immigrants at ICE’s facility in Broadview, Illinois, which has come under scrutiny for its conditions, according to the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership.

Their efforts came during an All Saint’s Day Mass organized by the religious organization that was held outside the center. It was the second time in three weeks that ICE had refused clergy members from delivering Communion to immigrants, according to the group.

The evening of Nov. 4, from outside Castel Gandolfo, the papal palace in Italy, a reporter asked Pope Leo, a Chicago native, about the Communion refusals at Broadview and what kind of rights immigrants should have while under detention.

The pope expressed that immigrants should be allowed to receive Communion.

Pope Leo, first referencing a chapter in the Bible from the Gospel of Matthew, said, “Jesus says very clearly at the end of the world we’re going to be asked ... how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not?”

“And I think that there’s a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what’s happening,” the pope added.

“The spiritual rights of people who have been detained should also be considered, and I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people,” Pope Leo continued. “Many times they have been separated from their families for a good amount of time no one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”

In response to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Nov. 5, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the Broadview center is an ICE field office being used as a processing facility, adding that it is not a detention facility.

“Illegal aliens are only briefly held there for processing before being transferred to a detention facility,” McLaughlin said. “Religious organizations are more than welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities.”

She also mentioned religious requests are unable to be currently accommodated because “rioters” have attacked the Broadview facility for more than a month.

“ICE staff has repeatedly informed religious organizations that due to Broadview’s status as a field office and the ongoing threat to civilians, detainees, and officers, and for their safety, they are not able to accommodate these requests at this time,” McLaughlin said.

A class-action lawsuit filed Oct. 31 argues immigrants held at the Broadview facility are detained in overcrowded holding cells and are denied a range of rights, from food, water, medical care and sleep to private calls with attorneys.

Immigrants are meant to be held there for about up to 12 hours, as the facility lacks beds and showers, The New York Times reported. However, ICE has held some individuals at the center for multiple days, according to the newspaper, which cited lawyers representing plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit.

Federal Judge Robert W. Gettleman is expected to issue a ruling related to the conditions at Broadview on Nov. 5, following a hearing on the lawsuit held on Nov. 4, The New York Times reported.

In an Oct. 31 statement on the case, Kevin Fee, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which is representing the lawsuit, said, “The Trump Administration has attempted to evade accountability for turning the processing center at Broadview into a de facto detention center.”

“DHS personnel have denied access to counsel, legislators, and journalists so that the harsh and deteriorating conditions at the facility can be shielded from public view,” Fee said.

According to Father David Inczauskis, a Catholic priest who was present at the Nov. 1 Mass outside of Broadview, ICE told clergy members that they needed to give a week’s notice in order to bring Communion to immigrants in custody.

Inczauskis, a member of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership Clergy Council, said faith leaders gave ICE 10 days’ notice ahead of Nov. 1.

“Perhaps they don’t want to allow us in because they know the conditions inside are inhumane and they know we would denounce that,” Inczauskis said in a statement. “Our request is so simple, to do something the Catholic church does every day.”

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