ICE bids to reopen Marana prison as immigration detention facility, sparking lawmaker outcry

PHOENIX — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is moving toward reopening a shuttered Marana prison under a planned two-year, sole-source agreement with Management & Training Corp., according to a federal contract notice.

ICE said it needs the 513-bed immigration detention center to meet the Trump administration’s “interior enforcement and border decompression goals,” and that MTC is the only source able to meet requirements within the needed time frame.

The notice, posted Feb. 25 on SAM.gov, describes “comprehensive detention services” including housing, guards, meals, medical care and transportation for the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Phoenix Field Office.

The performance work statement for the Marana Detention Facility calls for housing around 513 male detainees “of all security levels” on a 24/7 basis and operating under ICE’s 2025 National Detention Standards.

The plan also includes administrative and support space for about 31 ICE employees, including offices, file rooms, a room with video- conferencing capability and a firearms locker, the document said. ICE would provide and install its own IT equipment for government office spaces, while requiring a physically separate IT system from the contractor’s.

MTC, a Utah-based private prison operator, purchased the former Arizona State Prison in Marana last year for $15 million after the state closed the facility in late 2023, according to TucsonSentinel.com.

At the time of the closure, Gov. Katie Hobbs said that ending the contract would save money as the state was paying for nearly 475 beds even as the average population was about 225 beds.

According to MTC Communications Director Emily Lawhead, the federal posting signals ICE’s intent but is not a final contract award.

“This notice is not a contract award, and no final agreement has been made,” Lawhead said in an email to TucsonSentinel.com, adding that MTC has been in discussions with multiple public agencies about possible future use of the site.

Lawmaker criticizes plan to turn Marana prison into ICE detention center

Arizona U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva issued a sharp rebuke of the planned reopening, framing it as part of a broader pattern of private prison expansion.

“I am deeply concerned by the Trump administration’s rush to open this facility with zero transparency or community input,” Grijalva said in a statement. “Let’s be clear: detention expansion is a money-making machine for the private prison industry. Arbitrary deportation quotas mean more beds, bigger contracts and more profits for companies that have poured millions into Trump’s campaign.

“Time and again, these facilities have operated with too little oversight and accountability — with devastating human consequences, including dozens of deaths in custody. Our community deserves transparency, and families deserve an immigration system rooted in dignity and due process, not corporate profit.”

Pima County Supervisor Jen Allen told the Tucson Sentinel that opponents would continue to closely monitor any reopening.

A spokesperson for the town of Marana, Vic Hathaway, said the town is not part of any federal agreement but has a history of working with MTC at the site and has been told the company is open to meeting with residents if the deal moves forward.

ICE’s contract notice says the facility must be fully operational within a reasonable time after award.

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