‘We deserve transparency’: The fight against proposed ICE facility in Arizona is far from over, groups say

The brutal late-July heat does nothing to deter the couple dozen community members gathered at the Surprise Senior Center to participate in Rapid Response training with a shared goal — “Observe, monitor, document ICE activity in the community and empower community members to stand up and do something” before the launch of the largest immigration detention center nearby, according to Puente Human Rights Movement organizer Jerica T. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly purchased a warehouse in January in the sedate Surprise suburbs with the intention of converting it into a detention center holding roughly 1,500 migrants as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. 

It’s slated to open before the end of the year, pending an environmental review.

In addition to the numerous cases of “inhumane” conditions reported from within detention centers nationwide, the nearly 52 people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in the first 500 days since President Donald Trump’s inauguration have prompted swift pushback from Surprise residents. They’ve flooded social media and Surprise City Council meetings with insistent calls for city officials to do everything in their power to keep the project from moving forward.

On Tuesday, community members once again attended the Surprise City Council meeting and raised the issue during public comment, as has become customary for them since February. But Surprise and metro Phoenix residents continue organizing in addition to speaking up during council meetings. Voices for Change, Desert Roots Justice Network, and Puente Human Rights Movement are hosting workshops that train residents to know their rights and motivate neighbors to join their volunteer efforts, which include Rapid Response and Migra Watch groups.

Organizers’ preparation begins with their community 

Allyssa Estavillo lives down the street from the warehouse poised to become an ICE facility. Born and raised in Surprise, she considers her children and their safety a primary concern, given how close the facility is to their school.

The building purchased by the DHS sits near Sweetwater Avenue and Dysart Road in Surprise, right at the border with the city of El Mirage. According to U.S. Census data, Latinos make up just under a quarter of Surprise’s population and nearly half of El Mirage’s. And in the larger metropolitan area of Phoenix, Latinos make up over 35% of the residents.

Seeing very little organizing in place against the project, she joined others to establish Voices for Change Arizona, a Surprise initiative focused primarily on raising awareness around the proposed center and calling residents to action.

“I was born and raised here, and I started speaking out at the council meetings on Feb. 3. That’s kind of what sparked this: attending protests, speaking out against the detention center,” said Estavillo, executive director of Voices for Change Arizona. “We came to a meeting here in the original townsite and found that there was no organization within this community to be able to help inform [residents], keep them educated, provide resources and provide trainings for them. So that’s when we decided to start our own organization.”

In the face of the expected increase in ICE presence in an otherwise inactive part of the Valley, Puente’s citywide Rapid Response efforts and carefully researched tactics have built a tight-knit network of trained volunteers now aiming to expand their reach to the West Valley, aiding Peoria, Buckeye, El Mirage and Surprise. 

Their process, while simple, is highly effective, highlighting these core principles: safety for all, documentation, collective care and community readiness. Their workshops and trainings — from know-your-rights educational conversations to accompaniment readiness — focus on these main values in the face of ICE and DHS's increasingly aggressive tactics.

Rapid Response calls to action typically begin with a call to their Migra Watch hotline — 480-506-7437 — used to track ICE presence in neighborhoods, potential raid set-ups or an active arrest taking place. Once presence is verified by their network, an alert is sent to volunteers as both a call to action for those who feel comfortable and are in the area to respond and a warning for those who may be at risk of detention. 

While Puente stresses the importance of being prepared to respond to Rapid Response calls, they also disseminate vital information to families and individuals who may be at risk of detention. Migra Watch’s goal is not only to document ICE activity but also to inform its community by connecting impacted individuals to community-based resources. One of those resources is their own Plan of Defense. 

“That would be like a power of attorney so that your children don’t end up with Child Protective Services… Who has access to your bank account? Where’s your car? Who has access to it? Your financial accounts. Who can pay your mortgage?” Jerica T. said. “All of these types of things, all this paperwork can be set-up in advance before the ICE interaction happens. It empowers families to be better prepared for the consequences of their family members being taken from them.” 

Additional efforts stall operations, but plan remains in motion

In light of the lack of urgency from city officials, Surprise locals and state leaders have used other methods to delay operations at the facility. While some have been partially successful, the plan to convert the building remains in motion.

In April, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit against DHS’s conversion of the warehouse into a detention center, alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by ICE for not conducting the required environmental review to properly retrofit the warehouse. The lawsuit also claims DHS violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which requires “appropriate” placement of federal mass detention facilities. This particular location at Sweetwater Avenue and Dysart Road sits directly across the street from the “massive” Rinchem chemical warehouse and only two miles away from the proposed gas-powered Project Baccara data center. 

In a temporary win for locals and organizers, in June a federal judge signed an order to stay the case and prevent the retrofitting and operation of the facility until DHS conducts the NEPA environmental assessment.

In June, local lobbyist and advocate Jeremy Helfgot filed a petition with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to disincorporate the City of Surprise, transferring its land and assets to the county and effectively stripping the city council of its authority. The never-before-seen bid that would require the approval of two-thirds of registered voters in Surprise — an estimated 70,000 signatures within 180 days — would grant the county the choice of disincorporating the city outright or calling for an election to allow voters to decide. However, a recognized caveat of this plan is that, because the warehouse sits on federally owned land, the action may not slow or stop the federal government’s plans for the facility. 

State and federal representatives have also sent letters to local leaders, demanding action. In April, Democrat members of the Arizona Legislature sent a letter to the council, asking the city to stop the project by pursuing legal action against the DHS, refusing water, sewer and other city services to the department, approving ordinances prohibiting all non-municipal detention facility permits and more.

Despite the request, the council has remained resolute and has refused to speak further on the matter. 

CALÓ News reached out to the mayor and city manager, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Following the initial wave of backlash from Surprise residents that had first heard of the $70 million purchase from New-York based real estate LLC Rockefeller Group, Surprise City Council released a statement to address key points of concern — that DHS did not make city officials aware of the purchase nor did they communicate intentions for the building, and cited the Constitutional Supremacy Clause as reason for not being able to subject the federal project to local regulations. 

Even after hours of tearful pleas, heartfelt arguments and over 8,000 comments filed in the meetings that have followed, the mayor and council members have maintained what their released statement reads: “While we do not participate in ICE operations, we also cannot interrupt or prevent their operations.” 

“I’m very disappointed in the city’s response… They’ve been very inactive. They’ve been very quiet,” Puente Migra Watch trainer and organizer Judith C. said. “They were more concerned about the company that wanted to come in and build housing units for batteries and how safe that was, and how lucrative, and if the city residents even wanted that there. And then, when it comes to the ICE detention facility, they ask no questions.”

During a city council work session in June, a proposed amendment regarding the creation of a battery energy storage systems (BESS) overlay district in Surprise that would regulate a 150-foot setback in addition to an additional 350-foot buffer between battery storage to existing homes and property lines was heavily debated. Many council members questioned the safety and necessity of the zoning jurisdictions following the 2019 explosion at Surprise’s McMicken Battery Energy Storage facility, which injured several firefighters, caused widespread damage and drew attention to the risks of battery storage, particularly in residential areas.

Having previously spoken at a city council meeting before summer break, Judith explained having called out Surprise Mayor Kevin Sartor for initially having opposed the detention facility before a planned trip to Capitol Hill to disavow its construction at the federal level. He returned from Washington, D.C., “singing a whole different tune.” 

“I am upset with the mayor and also the council members. I know there are a few who have spoken out. I’ve talked to some of them personally and they are against the detention center,” Estavillo said. “However, it seems as if they’re being silenced by the mayor. I don’t really know where the mayor stands and I think that’s the biggest issue: that he hasn’t come out and opposed the detention center yet. And I think that, as a city, we deserve transparency.”

Analisa Valdez (she/her) is a freelance journalist based in Phoenix. Her reporting includes community & culture, social justice, arts, business, and politics.