Michael Loria
@michael-loria.bsky.social
usa today reporter in chicago, mainly
signal: mloria_usat.24
signal: mloria_usat.24
Story from yesterday on testimony heard in the case, including Trump’s top blitz enforcer saying the use of force has been “more than exemplary” and two women stopped at gun point by federal agents.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Top Trump blitz enforcer calls use of force in Chicago 'exemplary' despite complaints
U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis heard from Border Patrol officials and Chicagoans impacted by the president’s Midway Blitz crackdown.
www.usatoday.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Story from yesterday on testimony heard in the case, including Trump’s top blitz enforcer saying the use of force has been “more than exemplary” and two women stopped at gun point by federal agents.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Vcelka is telling a few stories about clients. Among them the story of a nursing mother who was detained in Wisconsin, brought to Broadview and was unable to reached until she was in Mexico.
November 4, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Vcelka is telling a few stories about clients. Among them the story of a nursing mother who was detained in Wisconsin, brought to Broadview and was unable to reached until she was in Mexico.
Calls with clients, if she reaches them while they're in Broadview, last about five minutes, Vcelka says. "It’s very difficult for me to hear my client, there’s a lot of background voices," she says, "and you can tell it's not on a recorded line."
November 4, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Calls with clients, if she reaches them while they're in Broadview, last about five minutes, Vcelka says. "It’s very difficult for me to hear my client, there’s a lot of background voices," she says, "and you can tell it's not on a recorded line."
Attorney Shelby Vcelka says, "I have had extremely limited communications with my clients while they're in Broadview, if I happen to speak with them it’s through happenstance, if their family members happens to be in my office when they call."
November 4, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Attorney Shelby Vcelka says, "I have had extremely limited communications with my clients while they're in Broadview, if I happen to speak with them it’s through happenstance, if their family members happens to be in my office when they call."
When she reached an attorney in the U.S., she learned she had actually agreed to leave the country for 10 years.
November 4, 2025 at 6:19 PM
When she reached an attorney in the U.S., she learned she had actually agreed to leave the country for 10 years.
Back in Honduras, she contacted who she thought was a lawyer who asked for money to secure her a "pardon." After giving the so-called attorney hundreds of dollars, she realized it was a scam.
November 4, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Back in Honduras, she contacted who she thought was a lawyer who asked for money to secure her a "pardon." After giving the so-called attorney hundreds of dollars, she realized it was a scam.
Ultimately she signed papers on the belief that they wouldn't let her out of the ICE facility otherwise. The officer told her that the papers meant she would have to stay out of the U.S. for five years.
November 4, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Ultimately she signed papers on the belief that they wouldn't let her out of the ICE facility otherwise. The officer told her that the papers meant she would have to stay out of the U.S. for five years.
She says she wanted to speak with a lawyer because "I didn't want to come here... I didn't want to leave my children behind."
November 4, 2025 at 6:19 PM
She says she wanted to speak with a lawyer because "I didn't want to come here... I didn't want to leave my children behind."
The woman is also beginning to cry as she talks about her deportation. In the ICE facility she says she asked to speak with an attorney was told, "what for" and there was nothing she could do.
November 4, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The woman is also beginning to cry as she talks about her deportation. In the ICE facility she says she asked to speak with an attorney was told, "what for" and there was nothing she could do.
Meals, she says, consisted of small frozen Subway sandwiches, often with just peppers and lettuce, accompanied by a small bottle of water. People asking for more water were told to wait for the next meal.
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Meals, she says, consisted of small frozen Subway sandwiches, often with just peppers and lettuce, accompanied by a small bottle of water. People asking for more water were told to wait for the next meal.
On asking facility officials for cleaning products, she says, "We would ask them to give us something — having been there for so many days we just couldn't put up with the smell anymore — but they said they didn't have anything."
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
On asking facility officials for cleaning products, she says, "We would ask them to give us something — having been there for so many days we just couldn't put up with the smell anymore — but they said they didn't have anything."
"They didn’t give us anything that had to do with cleaning, absolutely nothing," she says.
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
"They didn’t give us anything that had to do with cleaning, absolutely nothing," she says.
Her and other detainees once asked for a broom to sweep but were told no. At one point they used trash bags to unclog the toilet. There were no showers, she says.
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Her and other detainees once asked for a broom to sweep but were told no. At one point they used trash bags to unclog the toilet. There were no showers, she says.
She says she spent five days at the ICE facility outside Chicago. Inside the cell, she says, "there was no cleaning, they never cleaned the bathroom."
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
She says she spent five days at the ICE facility outside Chicago. Inside the cell, she says, "there was no cleaning, they never cleaned the bathroom."
Next up is a witness testifying over video from Honduras. She says she had been living in the U.S. for five years before immigration agents picked her up. Her two kids are still in the U.S.
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Next up is a witness testifying over video from Honduras. She says she had been living in the U.S. for five years before immigration agents picked her up. Her two kids are still in the U.S.
Zamacona speaks of similar conditions with overcrowding and cleanliness. "They never mopped, they never swept, there was garbage everywhere," he says.
November 4, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Zamacona speaks of similar conditions with overcrowding and cleanliness. "They never mopped, they never swept, there was garbage everywhere," he says.
"I wasn't going to sign anything," he says, "my life is here."
November 4, 2025 at 5:35 PM
"I wasn't going to sign anything," he says, "my life is here."
Zamacona says that at one point he says he told people at the facility that he wanted to go before a judge and he was presented with papers to sign referred to as "court papers." But Zamacona says he saw they were removal papers and refused to sign.
November 4, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Zamacona says that at one point he says he told people at the facility that he wanted to go before a judge and he was presented with papers to sign referred to as "court papers." But Zamacona says he saw they were removal papers and refused to sign.
Next up Felipe Agustin Zamacona, a 47-year-old born in Mexico who has been in Chicago for 31 years and attended high school in Chicago.
November 4, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Next up Felipe Agustin Zamacona, a 47-year-old born in Mexico who has been in Chicago for 31 years and attended high school in Chicago.
Moreno Gonzalez adds that over three days at the facility, he was given a small sandwich in the mornings, no hot food and three small water bottles daily. Detainees asking for water were either ignored or met with anger.
November 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Moreno Gonzalez adds that over three days at the facility, he was given a small sandwich in the mornings, no hot food and three small water bottles daily. Detainees asking for water were either ignored or met with anger.
On the toilets, Moreno Gonzalez says people were about an arm's length away. "The thing is when you go to the bathroom, you can't go because everybody sees you," he says.
November 4, 2025 at 4:50 PM
On the toilets, Moreno Gonzalez says people were about an arm's length away. "The thing is when you go to the bathroom, you can't go because everybody sees you," he says.