SURPRISE, AZ — As the mayor of Surprise presented the latest update on a controversial ICE facility to council members on Tuesday, people packed council chambers and surrounded city hall in protest.
Mayor Kevin Sartor said DHS has made plenty of promises, which include capping beds at 542, holding single adults for up to a week before sending them to other mega sites, reimbursing the city and keeping operations away from sensitive areas.
The facility, purchased in January for $70 million, is half a mile away from Dysart High School.
Student Cali Overs started an online petition urging lawmakers to create a three-mile buffer zone between detention facilities and schools.
“I was always taught 'see something, say something.' My fellow peers at my school are going to jeopardize,” Overs said.
Student Dayna Siqueiros said she has already seen peers stay away from school.
"Students do have to walk home and walk past the facility, which is terrifying,” Siqueiros said. "I've had a lot of classmates already stopped going and their parents already stopped taking them to school.”
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A top DHS official said the agency has paused the purchases of new warehouses as new Secretary Markwayne Mullin took over this month. DHS is currently reviewing contracts signed under former Secretary Kristi Noem.
Across the street from city hall, young debaters and content creators set up a table in support of ICE activity to talk with those protesting.
“Not only does this ICE facility helps the city of Surprise, it helps surrounding cities and towns as well,” Nathan Remillard said. “Even if the government didn’t reimburse the facility, this would be net positive for Arizonans.”
During the meeting council member Chris Judd questioned the proposed high water use of the facility and proximity to Luke Air Force Base amid other concerns.
“I think it’s a terrible location for a federal detention facility. I hate that everyone is trying to politicize it and make it some left and right type of thing,” Judd said. "For me this a developer who wants to put a detention facility in the middle of Surprise."
