Arizona AG Sues DHS Over $70 Million ICE Site Near High School
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · May 18
Arizona AG Sues DHS Over $70 Million ICE Site Near High School
2 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · May 18
Late April brought the first major legal challenge to DHS’s planned ICE detention center in Surprise, with Attorney General Kris Mayes alleging the agency moved ahead without required immigration and environmental review.
The project centers on a roughly 400,000-square-foot warehouse bought for about $70 million, slated to hold 500 to 1,500 detainees blocks from Dysart High School, where students said families already feared increased ICE activity.
Days before the lawsuit, DHS issued a stop-work order to the contractor developing the site, then rescinded it in early May; the department later said it was reviewing policies under new Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Student activist Cali Overs, 17, helped keep pressure on local and federal officials for months, even as Surprise’s mayor said the city could not block a federal purchase and online threats escalated against her.
The Surprise site is one of 11 buildings across eight states that DHS bought this year in a multibillion-dollar detention expansion, though some other communities have already derailed similar ICE projects.
When a teen's protest sparks a state lawsuit, can a federal detention center near schools be stopped?
A lawsuit calls a new detention center a hazard. What are the hidden risks for the surrounding community?
With billions fast-tracked for new detention centers, who is profiting from the government's controversial expansion plan?
Arizona Lawsuit Halts $70M Surprise ICE Detention Facility Amid Safety, Environmental, and Community Backlash
Overview
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to block a new immigration detention center in Surprise, Arizona. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction, arguing that federal law prohibits using the warehouse for housing people because it is located directly across from a hazardous chemical storage facility. Mayes warns that this proximity could lead to a mass casualty event if a chemical spill or fire occurs. As a result, the facility's development is now uncertain, with its future depending on the outcome of the legal challenge.