Detained father calls daughters from Broadview ICE facility, says he's held in room with 150 men

Sisters Milagros Pelayo and Yessenia Garcia got a call Friday morning while protesting the treatment of detainees outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview.

It was their dad, Rosalio Pelayo Salgado, who was arrested by federal immigration agents last week and was being held in the facility.

“He said he saw us on the news,” said Pelayo, 22. “He knows we’re out here. He said he feels proud of us.”

Pelayo and Garcia arrived at the ICE processing facility at 5 a.m., hoping for a chance to see their father.

Instead, they learned about the conditions he has lived under since his arrest — and that he would be deported Saturday.

Pelayo said her dad described being held in a room with at least 150 other men as ICE officers constantly yell at them and call them slurs. He also told his daughters detainees are only given food and water based on good behavior, Pelayo said.

“He’s feeling upset and anxious,” Pelayo told the Sun-Times. “They’ve refused to give him his anxiety medication and said they threw his glasses away, so he can’t see.”

ICE did not respond immediately to specific questions about the conditions at the Broadview processing center.

His account echoes the experience of Gladis Yolanda Chavez Pineda, a Honduran woman detained in June who described “inhumane” conditions at the facility, where she was one of 30 women held in a room with no beds, no blankets and little food.

Pelayo Salgado was detained Sept. 10 at his home in suburban Elgin. He’s been held at the Broadview facility ever since, according to his daughters.

He is facing unlawful reentry charges in federal court in southern Illinois, according to records. He has a prior conviction for drunken driving and was paroled from Robinson Correctional Center in July. He was deported in 2004 but returned to the United States in 2020.

Pelayo and Garcia have driven from Elgin to Broadview every day since Monday hoping to get in touch with their father. Shortly after an ICE officer turned the sisters away Friday, demonstrators began arriving to protest the treatment of immigrants across Illinois and Chicago.

The sisters decided to join the crowd.

The protesters were met with a heavy response when ICE officers launched pepper balls and tear gas in an attempt to get the crowd to disperse.

Despite hearing how her father’s being treated, Pelayo said she was glad to hear his voice.

“I’m upset and frustrated, but overall, I’m glad I heard from him,” she said. “I feel reassured that he’s OK.”

Even though her father faces deportation, Pelayo said she’d rather know that he’s all right.

“I would rather they do [deport him],” she said. “That way at least we can talk to him and make sure he’s doing OK.”