The latest story to draw the Trump administration’s ire? A follow-up piece about a class-action lawsuit over allegedly inhumane conditions at an ICE facility in suburban Chicago, where detainees are “kept from attorneys and tricked into signing deportation forms,” the Tribune reported Tuesday.
The story went on to detail how a federal judge called the conditions at the facility “unnecessarily cruel” during a recent hearing over a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s tactics. The judge suggested the situation is “unconstitutional” even for “convicted felons,” much less for “civil detainees” that ICE is holding.
“MORE GARBAGE from @chicagotribune,” the DHS official X account posted yesterday afternoon, in response to a post from Tribune journalist Laura N. Rodriguez Presa about the story, which focused on the ICE holding center in the Chicago suburb of Broadview.
Rodriguez Presa posted that the Broadview facility conditions for detainees are “horrid,” and the story reported that detainees are kept in "dirty and unsafe conditions" while being denied access to attorneys.
“Broadview is a processing center, NOT a detention center,” the DHS X account continued. “Broadview manages the worst of the worst including pedophiles, gang members and rapists. All detainees are provided with three meals a day, water and have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. No one is denied access to proper medical care. Any claims there are subprime conditions at the Broadview ICE facility are FALSE.”
A day prior, Rodriguez Presa also shared on X a video of masked ICE agents ramming the car of Dayanne Figueroa, a U.S. citizen, on her way to work, and then arresting her. Figueroa was later released without charges after being held by ICE for several hours, Rodriguez Presa reported.
In response, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin posted on X that the Tribune “has turned itself into a full-time PR firm for criminals and violent agitators who assault law enforcement.”
McLaughlin contended online that, rather than ICE officers running into Figueroa, it was Figueroa who rammed her vehicle into the ICE automobile. McLaughlin didn't address the fact that Figueroa was not charged with a crime following the incident.
“She violently kicked two law enforcement officers, causing injuries,” McLaughlin wrote. “This agitator was arrested for assault on a federal agent. This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens and agitators ramming cars into our law enforcement officers.”
When reached this afternoon, Tribune Executive Editor Mitch Pugh said he stands with his reporters.
"The Tribune stands behind the excellent journalism that Laura and her colleagues have been doing," Pugh said of Rodriguez Presa. "These journalists have been out on the front lines, doing outstanding work under incredibly difficult circumstances. Regardless of what happens on social media, I know I'm grateful for their poise and professionalism, and I think their work speaks for itself."
Jake Sheridan, chair of the Tribune Guild, added that the guild "is so proud of the work that our colleagues are doing to cover this incredibly important moment in Chicago."
The Tribune is hardly the first major U.S. news outlet to be targeted by Trump or his acolytes. Since October 2024, President Donald Trump has filed lawsuits against CBS, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and more, with varying results. Some, such as CBS, have paid millions to settle lawsuits with the Trump administration.
Credentials
John Schroyer | Crain's Chicago Business | November 5, 2025
