A post on X (formerly Twitter) has gone viral, showing a heartbreaking scene outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centre in suburban Chicago. The post, shared by user @maddenifico, claims that a man’s wife went missing inside the Broadview ICE facility. The post includes two emotional photos of a man in a suit sitting on the ground in a parking lot beside a wall outside what appears to be the facility. In one image, he’s hunched over with his face in his hands and in the other, he looks down at his phone with tearful, helpless eyes.
"A man ran to the Broadview ICE facility today searching for his wife of five years. They were following the legal process, showing up for her court case, when ICE took her to another room and disappeared her. He tracked her phone to Broadview where the signal cut off. Police… pic.twitter.com/A6Av3R11uP
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) November 8, 2025
The post says the man sat in the parking lot, crying and confused, with no answers about what had happened to her wife. “He tracked her phone to Broadview where the signal cut off. Police told him to just look up her name online. He sat in a parking lot weeping, confused, with no answers,” the post reads.
According to the post, the couple had been following the legal immigration process and arrived for her court-related appointment. The ICE officers took his wife “to another room” and she never came back. He tracked her phone to the facility, but the signal soon disappeared. When he asked police for help, they reportedly told him to “look up her name online.”
“A man ran to the Broadview ICE facility today searching for his wife of five years. They were following the legal process, showing up for her court case, when ICE took her to another room and disappeared her,” the post mentioned.
About the Broadview facility
The Broadview ICE Facility, located in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, is supposed to hold ICE detainees for only about 12 hours before they are moved to a larger detention centre.
However, ICE continues its arrests in Chicago and nearby areas, some people are being kept at Broadview for several days without beds or proper food, according to a report by Fight Back News.
On July 22, immigrant rights groups held a press conference demanding the closure of Broadview ICE Facility and urging local officials to take action. When the activists tried to hand over a letter listing their demands to Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen Burke O’Neill, they were threatened with arrest, the report mentioned.
How social media is reacting
Though the claims remain unverified, the story has sparked concern among netizens and community members. Commenting on the post, a user wrote, “This is absolutely heartbreaking to read. They followed the legal process, and yet she was suddenly taken away without explanation — that’s devastating. I can’t even imagine the pain and confusion he must be feeling. No matter the situation, every person deserves dignity”.
This is absolutely heartbreaking to read.
They followed the legal process, and yet she was suddenly taken away without explanation — that’s devastating.
I can’t even imagine the pain and confusion he must be feeling.
No matter the situation, every person deserves dignity,…— すのむ (@morinotsubame) November 8, 2025
Another user shared similar sentiments saying, “This kind of secrecy is unacceptable. If the government detains someone, they owe the family transparency. People shouldn’t “disappear” in a system that claims to be lawful and fair”.
One more comment surfaced, where a user noted, “Sad story, but this is what happens when the system is a mess. Blame the government that created a broken, chaotic immigration process not the agents stuck enforcing it. If we had real rules, real borders, and real transparency, situations like this wouldn’t happen”.
