FBI investigating criminal damage to ICE facility in West Valley

PHOENIX – The FBI is investigating criminal damage to a building owned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Surprise.

The Surprise Police Department responded to reported damage at the 418,000-square-foot warehouse at 13290 W. Sweetwater Ave., near Dysart and Thunderbird roads, around 1:30 a.m.

FBI Phoenix special agents later arrived at the scene and found a broken window and signs of a fire, authorities said.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Proposed ICE facility met with public opposition

The proposed ICE facility where a warehouse will be turned into a processing and detention facility for ICE with room for 1,500 detainees has been met with a plethora of public scrutiny.

Top Democrats sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week after ICE purchased the property for $70 million without warning.

The planned ICE detention center is located 300 yards from residential homes, and about a mile from a high school with a student population that is more than 60% Hispanic.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes was among the individuals who sent the letter, and the Democrat floated the idea of attempting to have the court declare the site a public nuisance.

The city of Surprise stated in January that they had not been notified by DHS and were unaware of the proposal to convert the warehouse into an ICE facility.

Then, more than 150 residents attended a Surprise City Council meeting to voice their opposition to the ICE detention center in February.

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