Where Things Stand
Surprise City Council regular meeting.
16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise. Council Chambers.
On April 22, a federal stop work order halted construction at the Surprise facility. The order was issued to GardaWorld Federal Services, the contractor on the $313 million retrofit, and is documented in the federal procurement database. DHS, ICE, and GardaWorld have not stated a reason publicly. Two days later, on April 24, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed suit in federal court against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. The complaint alleges violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act. Filing alone does not stop construction. In the parallel Maryland case, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on April 15, after DHS had already issued a similar stop work order to that facility's contractor on April 2.
On April 21, the Surprise City Council again took no formal vote on the facility. Councilmember Judd proposed a letter requesting DHS honor local zoning and Luke AFB restrictions. The city attorney intervened publicly when Judd attempted to discuss the contents of the city's legal review. On April 15, Mayor Sartor told KTAR he would not pursue legal action. The mayor holds one of seven votes. DHS confirmed that the September opening target is "aggressive" and that a more realistic timeframe is "sometime in the fall." Steel security gates are now visible around the warehouse.
Five Findings
Each of the findings below is documented in a council record, a federal agency statement, a news outlet, or a public filing. Each links to the fuller account on the main site.
On April 22 and again on April 23, DHS issued stop work orders to GardaWorld Federal Services, the contractor on the $313 million retrofit. Federal procurement records describe Modification P00002 as updating the stop work order in effect at the Surprise facility. DHS has not publicly stated a reason. Two days later, on April 24, Attorney General Kris Mayes filed suit in federal court against DHS, ICE, Secretary Mullin, and Acting Director Lyons, alleging violations of NEPA and the Immigration and Nationality Act and centering on the chemical warehouse directly across the street. The complaint also notes that the chemical facility's Risk Management Plan was filed January 1, 2026, three weeks before the ICE facility was announced, and does not account for a mass detention site next door. Of the four state cases now pending against DHS's warehouse detention program, Arizona is the only one in which DHS has produced no environmental review document at all. In the parallel Maryland case, the federal court granted a preliminary injunction on April 15.
Read the April 22 and April 24 record →On April 7, Judd committed on the record to bringing the facility as a formal action item. On April 21, he proposed a letter instead. No resolution has been introduced. No vote has been taken. Other cities have passed formal resolutions, withheld water hookups, and filed lawsuits. Surprise has done none of these.
Read the April 21 and April 7 records →On April 16, Senators Kelly and Gallego sent a formal letter to DHS Secretary Mullin demanding a halt to all detention expansion in Arizona until full transparency and community engagement are completed. They set a May 1 response deadline. That deadline arrives today. DHS has not publicly responded to either the April 16 letter or the senators' original February 10 letter. The April 16 letter specifically names students at Dysart High School and Dysart Middle School.
Read the April 16 letter →Nine weeks after the DC trip (March 15 to 19), none of DHS's verbal commitments are in writing. The 542-bed cap, the facility tour, the school and senior center protections, the community relations board, the $300,000 annual property-tax reimbursement. None of it is enforceable. The AG's complaint makes the same point at the federal level: DHS has not followed required process.
Read the full record →Surprise passed a high-water-use ordinance requiring council approval for any facility using more than 100,000 gallons per day. The detention facility could use nearly 270,000 gallons per day at full capacity. The city's highest current user consumes 80,000 gallons per day. The ordinance is a concrete point of local authority the council has not yet exercised.
Read the water analysis →For Your Email to the Council
Councilmember contact forms are at surpriseaz.gov/732/City-Council. A single sentence, copied and pasted into the body of the email, is enough to be counted.
One-line email
“Arizona's Attorney General has now sued DHS and ICE in federal court. I am asking each councilmember to formally support that action and to use every tool available to this council, including the water ordinance, before the facility opens.”
Three Things You Can Do
- Attend on May 5. 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, 6:00 PM. Numbers on the floor matter. Submit a Call to the Public form to speak: surpriseaz.portal.civicclerk.com.
- Email every councilmember by name before the meeting. Ask whether they will formally support the AG's lawsuit. Ask why no resolution has been introduced. Ask why the water ordinance has not been enforced. Find contacts →
- Sign the 3-Mile Buffer petition and share this page. A Dysart High School student started a petition calling for a federal buffer zone between ICE facilities and schools. Sign at 3milebuffer.com →. Then share this page on Nextdoor, Facebook, or text it to a neighbor.
For the full record, every documented development with primary sources, and the talking points for harder conversations, see the main site. For the letter template addressed to all seven councilmembers, see the letter section.