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Surprise ICE warehouse detention center work resumes after federal stop-work order lifted

By
FOX 10 Phoenix
Immigration
Published June 23, 2026 7:25 PM MST
Published June 23, 2026 7:25 PM MST

The Brief

    • Work has resumed on converting a warehouse in Surprise into an immigration detention center after federal officials rescinded a stop-work order on the project.
    • The Department of Homeland Security is scaling back its nationwide plan by selling or repurposing seven of 11 warehouses purchased in January, amid community outrage and seven federal lawsuits.
    • A total of $700 million is earmarked for the Surprise warehouse conversion, with $313 million already awarded to contractors and a listed completion date of March 2027.

SURPRISE, Ariz. - An immigration detention center in Surprise has received the green light from federal officials, even as the Department of Homeland Security scales back its plan to build these facilities across the nation.

The backstory:

In January, DHS announced it purchased 11 warehouses nationwide. Plans called for each of the facilities to hold thousands of migrants. The announcement sparked community outrage and seven federal lawsuits. Some local leaders questioned whether the facilities would drain local resources.

Surprise City Councilman Chris Judd previously expressed opposition to the facility. "This has nothing to do with ICE and what ICE is supposed to be doing. I just don't want a federal detention center in the middle of Surprise, and I'm going to poke and prod and push any way that I can to stop this from coming in. But DHS— they own the land. They're going to do something with it," Judd said.

Big picture view:

New reports say seven of the buildings will be sold or used for other purposes. That includes warehouses in Georgia, Michigan, Utah, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Neighbors and leaders in those areas have raised concerns.

"I think it's great. We shouldn't have this so close to the residence. We're literally taking our kids to school. They're right there, and it's not fair they're gonna have to be by a detention center," Romulus, Michigan resident Monai Wilson said. 

"We didn't have the infrastructure to support a facility of that type," a local official said. "Just for sewage alone was for over a-million gallons a day and our sewer plant can only process 650 gallons a day, and it’s already at capacity."

What we know:

But some new DHS facilities are still moving forward. Work is underway on detention centers in Maryland, Texas, and Arizona. The Surprise facility is located at Sweetwater Avenue and Dysart Road, near a residential area and less than a mile from Dysart High School.

In March, the City Council and neighbors called on the federal government to work with the city to address infrastructure and safety concerns. DHS agreed and scaled down its original plan.

"DHS also stated there will be limited visibility in the community, ensuring transportation would happen discreetly to minimize community impact and disruption," Surprise Mayor Kevin Sartor said.

Dig deeper:

In April, Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit claiming environmental reviews still needed to be completed. The work was paused, but the federal contract database USAspending.gov shows the stop-work order has been rescinded.

By the numbers:

A total of $700 million is earmarked for the warehouse conversion, and $313 million has already been awarded to contractors. The project completion date is listed as March of next year.

What we don't know:

As for the canceled warehouses, it is still unclear what they will be used for now.

What they're saying:

In a statement to FOX, the DHS said, "From day one, DHS has remained singularly focused on removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from the United States... Once arrested, they should be removed, not housed on American soil at the taxpayer’s expense. DHS is moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners."

Map of the proposed ICE facility in Surprise.

The Source: Information in this report was gathered from the Department of Homeland Security, the federal contract database, legal filings by Attorney General Kris Mayes, past statements and interviews from Surprise City Councilman Chris Judd, Surprise Mayor Kevin Sartor, and a Romulus, Michigan resident.

ImmigrationSurpriseNews