Rep. Greg Stanton calls DHS warehouse purchases ‘a joke’ amid Surprise ICE facility pause

Arizona U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton expressed anger over the lack of foresight used by the Department of Homeland Security before it bought warehouses to convert into immigration detention centers, one of which the agency just agreed to put on hold in the city of Surprise.

In April, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sued DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to try and block the agency’s plan to transform a 418,000-square-foot warehouse at 13290 W. Sweetwater Ave. into a detention facility, arguing it was designed as an industrial building and stating they have not completed environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

DHS and Mayes on behalf of the state filed a stay order Tuesday that would not only pause the ongoing litigation but also put a hold on converting the warehouse, which the agency bought for $70 million in January, while it gets an environmental assessment.

“What a joke,” Stanton told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Evening News. “Kristi Noem … wanted to be so tough, so they spent $1 billion to get 11 of these warehouses around the country.

“Never talking to the local officials, never talking to the mayor, city council, nearby neighborhood groups, not even the school district, which is right next door, acting like no rules apply to them.”

 

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The congressman emphasized that DHS is losing money on the warehouses and has already sold seven of the 11 they purchased.

“Markwayne Mullin is taking a different approach, and he realizes they’re going to be potentially shut down by a court if they don’t go through the environmental process,” Stanton said.

He also highlighted the importance of city permits and ensuring safety requirements are met.

“That building was not built for 1,500 people to be in there plus ICE staff. So they were going to retrofit it, and they thought they could do it without getting a single permit or certificate of occupancy, which certifies that life safety standards have been met,” Stanton explained. “If they don’t do that, it’s a real danger.”

The previous plan for the warehouse was for it to be a commercial distribution center. DHS has agreed to pay the city $300,000 annually for use of the facility and to offset the lost tax revenue.

Stanton has previously sent letters along with Reps. Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva to DHS and ICE questioning them about the planned Surprise ICE facility.

Greg Stanton says U.S. needs modernized immigration system

Axios Phoenix reported Wednesday about a 76-year-old woman, Epifania Juares-Gonzalez, who has a number of health issues and is facing deportation after the deaths of her husband and son, a green card holder U.S. Citizen, respectively. She lost her pathways to cancel her removal proceedings as a result.

“What interest is it of the United States of America to deport a woman in her 70s that has serious health issues, whose husband and son died recently, whose caretakers are here in the United States, … to (an) unknown location where she doesn’t have a support system and likely will die,” Stanton questioned. “The answer is none.”

The congressman emphasized that the country’s needs to use “good judgement immigration reform” and go after and deport the people who have committed violent crimes, adding that political leaders need to work to fix the system.

He also called for a modernized immigration system that provides people like Juares-Gonzalez and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients pathways to citizenship.

“People like that should have an opportunity to stay here if they haven’t otherwise committed violent crimes. H-1B, so many businesses need that. We can have an immigration system that helps grow the American economy. We need to be smart about this,” Stanton said. “The case you just mentioned is exhibit A as to why our system is so broken, and people are angry about how the Trump administration is engaging in immigration enforcement at this very time.”

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