LETTER: Democrats Oppose Opening of ICE Facility in Surprise; Ask City Council to Stop the Facility From Opening

The Honorable Mayor Kevin Sartor

Councilmember Nick Haney

Councilmember Earle Greenburg

Councilmember Patrick Duffy

Councilmember Johnny V. Melton

Councilmember Jack Hastings

Councilmember Chris Judd

To the Honorable Mayor Sartor and Members of the Surprise City Council:

We write as elected state legislators gravely concerned about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) plans to open a processing center within the next 3-6 months in Surprise, Arizona.

As ICE seeks to ramp up deportations, they are acquiring more detention and office space across the country and have virtually unlimited resources through the more than $170 billion provided to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through H.R. 1. This large-scale expansion of ICE is not only a danger to those individuals being held in custody, but the community as a whole.

Deaths in ICE custody have risen significantly under the Trump Administration, with 34 deaths reported in 2025 and at least 14 deaths reported as of late March 2026. This represents a sharp increase from previous years (11 in 2024), making it the deadliest period since 2004. The increase in deaths is being driven by increased detention numbers, inadequately trained staff, overcrowding, and an absolute failure by ICE to provide medically appropriate health care. Further, the proposal presents a safety and security threat to the residents of Surprise, many of whom have expressed their opposition of the facility to the council.

West Valley communities will bear the brunt of the impacts of this warehouse, including exposure to public health risks caused by unsafe or unhealthy conditions, increased ICE presence, foregone tax revenue, water and sanitation burdens, environmental impacts, and strained infrastructure. We believe there is no compromise that should be made with DHS to open this facility. The only acceptable option is to stop the facility from opening at all costs.

To that end, we ask the City to take action in the following ways:

Pursue any and all legal action to prevent DHS from superseding local control
Refuse all water, sewer, and other municipal services to the facility
Refuse all permits for retrofitting an office building into a private detention center, as officials did in Howard County, MD¹
Pass a moratorium blocking all non-municipal detention facility permits, as officials did in Kansas City, Missouri.²
Pass an ordinance prohibiting ICE from using city-owned property for operations, similar to the City of Phoenix

DHS and ICE have proven they cannot operate any facility without violating human rights and the United States Constitution. Allowing this detention center to move forward with the minimal concessions made by DHS will only serve to expand their authoritarian mass deportation campaign which has injured and killed citizens and noncitizens alike, separated families, and deported U.S. citizens and others legally present in the U.S.

We stand ready as state legislators to support you in your demands for local control and respect for our nation’s laws and the basic human rights of immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and United States citizens. Thank you for your service to the residents of Surprise.

Senate Assistant Minority Leader

House Minority Assistant Leader

Arizona State Representative

Stephanie Stahl Hamilton

Arizona State Representative

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