Surprise Activists File Petition to Dissolve the City Over Planned ICE Detention Center

Jeremy Helfgot, a lobbyist and advocate for progressive organizations, filed a petition Tuesday asking the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to disincorporate the City of Surprise. The move would strip the city council of its power and place Surprise under county control. Helfgot said the petition is a direct response to the council's refusal to oppose a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in the northwest Phoenix suburb.

"If the city's elected and professional leadership cannot stand up, will not stand up, will not take a stand to even meet with their constituents to discuss critical issues of safety and security, then maybe this city doesn't deserve to have its own independent control," Helfgot said, according to News From The States.

The Facility at the Center of the Fight

In January, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security purchased a 418,400 square foot warehouse in Surprise. Federal officials later confirmed the building would be retrofitted to house up to 1,500 immigrants. A shift in federal agency leadership earlier this year led to policy changes. A short-lived stop work order was issued and then rescinded. The facility's capacity was reduced to 542 beds. Gardaworld Federal, the private security company hired to oversee the project, has since posted job listings for several full-time staff positions.

The warehouse sits across the street from a hazardous chemical storage facility. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in April. Mayes argued that federal law prohibits converting the warehouse into a detention center because of its proximity to the chemical storage site.

What Disincorporation Would Mean

If the petition succeeds, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors would take over governance of Surprise. Activists believe the board would be more responsive to local demands to block the federal plan.

The petition must first receive approval of its language from the Board of Supervisors. The document emphasizes the "inability of the City of Surprise's elected and professional leadership to properly protect the safety and security of our residents" as the reason for the request. If successful, the board could disincorporate the city or hold an election letting voters decide.

To gather enough support, activists need signatures from at least two-thirds of Surprise voters within six months. That figure is estimated at around 70,000 signatures. The city has a population of nearly 173,000.

Helfgot acknowledged the task would be difficult. He confirmed that funding sources and signature gathering plans have not yet been secured.

"It is an uphill climb," Helfgot said. "We know it's going to require a lot of work. But it is worth the effort to protect this community if its leaders won't protect it."

City Council Stays Silent

Mayor Kevin Sartor has maintained that taking action against federal officials would be the wrong decision. Sartor said the city has no legal grounds to block the facility. In March, Sartor and four other city officials met with DHS. They requested reimbursement for city revenue lost because of the warehouse and asked for an agreement that enforcement actions would not spill over into nearby schools.

The warehouse is located just one mile from a public high school. More than 60 percent of the school's student body is Hispanic.

Brittany Bishop, a Surprise native who has organized protests against the ICE facility, criticized the mayor's silence.

"If we let this detention center open, Surprise will forever be known as a city with a human warehouse that holds people against their will," Bishop said. "The mayor of Surprise is silent on this matter. He is not concerned like the people of Surprise are about the multitudes of issues ICE presents."

Community Outcry

Opponents of the facility have been vocal for months. More than 1,000 people filled a city council hearing room and demonstrated outside during a February meeting. Hundreds more have spoken out at subsequent meetings and local protests.

Erika Andiola of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network spoke at Tuesday's city council meeting. She erected a small fenced pen outside the council chambers with a dummy covered in a foil blanket to represent immigrants held in detention facilities.

Andiola shared the story of a man nicknamed Memo, who has been detained in Gilbert for nine months despite living in the country for more than two decades with no criminal background. Andiola said his five-year-old child visits him at the detention center every weekend.

"That's exactly the type of stories we're going to see in Surprise, Arizona, if the city council doesn't stand up to the Trump administration," Andiola said.

City Officials Respond

At the city's last council meeting before its summer break, City Manager Andrea Davis told the packed hearing room that the facility remains in the planning phase. Davis said city officials have not received significant updates.

Davis noted that the city is working with U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly to create a website connecting residents with federal officials. The goal is to help residents voice their concerns directly to the agencies in charge.

"Putting residents in contact with the federal officials, since it is a federal matter, making sure they get that information from them," Davis said.

Three of the council's six nonpartisan seats are up for election this year. Incumbents are running for reelection. Only one faces a primary challenge. The makeup of the council is likely to remain the same.

The Road Ahead

The petition marks an escalation in a months-long dispute over the federal detention plan. Activists say disincorporation is the only remaining path to change. City leaders say they are limited in what they can do against a federal agency. The next steps depend on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and whether Surprise voters will sign a petition to dissolve their city.