The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is asking a judge to pause its lawsuit challenging a planned ICE detention center in Surprise after the Trump administration agreed to stop development until it can look at the facility’s environmental impact.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed the suit against the Department of Homeland Security in April after the department purchased a massive warehouse with plans to convert it into a temporary detention facility for people in ICE custody.
Mayes argued DHS fast-tracked the project and violated a host federal laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act. That law, also called NEPA, requires the government to conduct lengthy environmental assessments before moving forward with major projects, with some exceptions.
Amongst other issues, Mayes argued the warehouse was not built to house human beings and lacks sufficient water and plumbing infrastructure. She also said the new facility would put a strain on the surrounding community, increase traffic congestion and strain local resources.
"Clearly it would affect the environment, given all of the traffic patterns, given the number of people that are going to come in here,'' she said in April.
DHS has argued in the past that those exclusions apply to things like acquiring or remodeling an existing building, versus an entirely new construction project.
But the department has now agreed to conduct those environmental reviews, according to court filings.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office and DHS filed a joint motion on Tuesday asking Judge Susan Brnovich to stay the case.
A proposed order shows that DHS and ICE “will neither detain any individuals at the Surprise Facility nor take any action to convert the Surprise Facility into an immigration detention center” before it completes required environmental reviews.
In exchange, the Attorney General’s Office has agreed not to ask the judge for an injunction to block the proposed facility while those reviews are ongoing.
“This agreement is a significant win for the people of Surprise and for the rule of law,” Mayes said in a statement. “Federal agencies must complete the environmental review process required by federal law before moving forward with these types of projects. My office will keep fighting to ensure the law is followed.”
Brnovich must sign off on the proposed order for it to take effect.
The new agreement between DHS and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office does not address several other issues raised in Mayes’ April lawsuit, including that the new detention center would violate the Immigration and Nationality Act. That law requires the federal government to “arrange for appropriate places of detention for aliens detained pending removal or a decision on removal.”
The Surprise warehouse “is not (and will never be) suitable for use as a mass detention facility,” according to the lawsuit.
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