Overview
- In a Feb. 9 letter, Mayes demanded answers on water, sewage, traffic, emergency services, school proximity and detainee health care, warning she may invoke Arizona’s public nuisance law.
- She said the 418,400‑square‑foot warehouse’s conversion could meet the statute’s definition of a threat to public health or community comfort, though court precedent remains limited.
- DHS purchased the Surprise Pointe Commerce Center on Jan. 23 for about $70 million, and ICE confirmed plans to convert it into a 1,500‑bed processing and detention facility.
- Surprise officials said they were not notified of the purchase, residents filled recent council meetings to object, and the site is close to homes and a nearby high school.
- Arizona lawmakers from both parties, including Rep. Paul Gosar and Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, pressed DHS for transparency as the department defends the project as part of a national detention expansion marked by record populations and heightened scrutiny over deaths in custody.