Arrests in Chicago area amid new ruling on Guard

As a court battle continued over whether President Trump can legally deploy the National Guard in Illinois, a brawl broke out between protesters and state police at an immigration detention facility near Chicago.

- BY SUSANNE RUST

ADAM GRAY Associated Press

ILLINOIS State Police detain people after declaring an unlawful assembly outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Saturday.

The protest Saturday, which had largely been a peaceful gathering of a few hundred people at the facility in Broadview, quickly turned chaotic as protesters jumped a line of concrete barriers, stopping traffic and violating police orders to stay off the street.

By 8 p.m., 15 people had been arrested, according to Matthew Waldberg, a spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff's Office and the unified command for the protests, which includes local and state police. Eight of the arrests occurred during the evening chaos, while seven were made earlier that day.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility has been a hot spot for weeks as protesters have expressed their anger and frustration at Trump's immigration crackdown with chants, signs and fist shaking. In recent weeks, law enforcement officers have responded with tear gas and rubber pellets on several occasions. Last month, officers pelted a pastor in the head with a rubber pepper ball.

Tensions increased last week as Trump announced his intention to deploy federalized National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas to protect ICE and its facility.