DHS Buys Surprise Warehouse for ICE Detention Facility

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s real estate acquisition spree now includes a warehouse in the Phoenix area.

The department, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement, purchased a 418,000-square-foot warehouse at 13290 West Sweetwater Avenue in Surprise for more than $70 million, Axios reported, citing Maricopa County property records. RG Surprise AZ LLC, an entity linked to Rockefeller Group, was the seller, according to Axios. ICE has confirmed that it plans to open a 1,500-bed detention facility in the warehouse.

The acquisition comes as the DHS ramps up its acquisitions of such spaces across the country to make way for a rising number of detainees and after news broke early last month that DHS is targeting Phoenix for increased federal immigration activity.

“These will not be warehouses; they will be well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards,” the agency said of the efforts on social media. “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space. Thanks to [President Donald Trump’s] 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.”

The move garnered swift pushback. Local protestors filled Surprise City Hall on Tuesday to speak in opposition to the warehouse purchase. The Surprise City Council said it had no control over the warehouse purchase and has no authority in dictating how it is used, as federal projects are not subject to local zoning or other regulations.

“The city was not aware that there were efforts underway to purchase the building, was not notified of the transaction by any of the parties involved and has not been contacted by DHS or any federal agency about the intended use of the building,” Surprise officials said in a statement. Surprise City Council member Chris Judd put it more bluntly, telling the Arizona Republic “It’s looking like it’s out of our hands.”— Chris Malone Méndez