A Department of Homeland Security document outlines new plans for an ICE detention center in the Town of Marana — including an estimate that the facility could incarcerate more than 1,300 people.
That figure far exceeds the maximum capacity of 775 people cited in previous federal documents. What’s more, it directly contradicts recent comments from the facility’s current owner, Management & Training Corporation, whose communications director said in an email Thursday the company has not proposed a 1,300-person capacity.
It was also news to at least one town councilmember.
“I was shocked by what I saw,” said Town Councilmember Patrick Cavanaugh, speaking to AZPM. “I just can't believe this. They would have to enlarge this prison.”
Cavanaugh, who has publicly opposed the ICE facility, called the plans “deplorable” Thursday.
In a statement to AZPM Thursday, Marana Town Manager Terry Rozema said he reached out to MTC about the change in capacity.
“According to MTC, that number is not part of their proposal and is not part of plans for the facility,” Rozema said.
An ICE spokesperson did not directly respond to questions from AZPM seeking clarification on the 1,300-person capacity. Instead, the agency sent a general statement lauding the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allocated $45 billion to the ICE detention system.
“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities,” an ICE spokesperson said.
Public updates on the Marana detention facility have been scant in recent months. In February, DHS posted a performance work statement outlining a potential contract for the facility. In March, however, the contract was rendered inactive and has continued to appear inactive in federal public records.
Then, this week, the grassroots group Pima Resists ICE found and circulated the DHS document, which provides new glimpses into how the facility could operate.
“Sometimes these sorts of announcements are the only ways that we get any information about what's actually intended or what the plans are for the facility,” said PRICE volunteer Caroline Isaacs. “So in that sense, we have more information than we had before about what they intend to do there.”
Representatives for both ICE and MTC said Thursday they have not signed a contract for the facility.
“We do not have a contract in place at this time. We continue to work through the process with ICE following the notice of intent to sole source that ICE published in February,” MTC communications director Emily Lawhead said in an email.
Public comment period on the facility ends Thursday##
DHS posted the notice regarding the Marana detention center under Executive Order 11988, which requires agencies to alert the public when planning or considering a project in a 100-year floodplain. The document also invites members of the public to weigh in on the detention facility’s potential environmental impacts.
People can submit comments via email to icesustainability@ice.dhs.gov, the notice states. The last day to do so, however, is Thursday, June 18.
After finding the document online this week, PRICE began distributing the notice — encouraging members of the public to submit comments.
“It is unclear exactly how long the comment period has been open, raising concerns about whether environmental groups were given adequate time to respond,” PRICE said in a statement.
It’s also not clear whether DHS announced its public comment period anywhere other than its website.
“Clearly, this is a last-minute, halfhearted sort of check-the-boxes effort to do the bare minimum to be in compliance with various federal regulations,” Isaacs said.
An ICE spokesperson did not respond to inquiries from AZPM on efforts to inform the public about the comment period.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva on Thursday lambasted DHS over the public comment period and called for an extension of at least 30 days.
“Once again, DHS is rushing through a public comment period to avoid public scrutiny and expedite Trump’s mass deportation agenda,” she said in a statement.
According to the DHS public notice, the existing facility along Silverbell Road would undergo renovations in several phases. Renovations would include new light poles, an additional fence with integrated detection systems, and vegetation management strategies “to maintain clear lines of sight for cameras.”
The existing structure previously served as a minimum-security prison, also operated by MTC. Currently, it has capacity to hold 506 people, the DHS notice states.
Over time, renovations will increase that capacity to 775 people, the notice said. After that, capacity could be further expanded “to over 1,300.”
DHS said it would expand the facility to include more exam rooms, observation cells, a triage room, and a dental area, among other features.
Isaacs from PRICE raised concerns over the prospective facility’s conditions, citing documented instances of overcrowding, medical neglect, and use of solitary confinement in other ICE detention facilities. She also pointed to recent deaths in ICE detention facilities — which have more than doubled under the Trump administration, a recent investigation from Reuters found.
Compared to the minimum security prison of years past, “this is a whole different ball game,” Isaacs said.
The DHS notice does not include a prospective timeline for the detention facility’s renovation.
