The number of detainees held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview has dropped precipitously since a federal judge ordered the government to comply with requirements to improve conditions at the facility, with only four people held there as of Tuesday morning.

The figure came out during a court hearing Tuesday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, illuminating one aspect of the notoriously opaque operations at the west suburban facility. A government lawyer gave the court the new headcount at the controversial site, which has attracted protesters for months.

In a class-action lawsuit filed last month, attorneys called the processing center a “black box” where detainees were crammed into dirty holding cells with not enough food and water, among other p

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