Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva spoke at a press conference opposing the planned Marana ICE detention center in Marana.

The press event, held by Pima Resists ICE (PRI.C.E.), preceded the Oct. 6 Town Council meeting, during which several members and supporters made public comments.  

“This is happening as death in ICE custody reaches record levels,” Rep. Grijalva said at the press conference. “And as the agency fails to provide even the most basic care for the people already in its custody.”

Management and Training Corporation’s (MTC) contract to bring a private ICE detention facility to Marana has been mired in controversy, and has roused up unrest in residents of Marana, Pima County, and Arizona at large. 

Much of the controversy surrounds the company itself. A highly publicized expose published by The Intercept and LOOKOUT brought to light MTC’s alleged failures to report staff-on-inmate sexual abuse allegations when it operated the Marana facility as a state prison. Riots and escapes at another MTC facility, Arizona State Prison – Kingman, led then Gov. Ducey to cancel the company’s contract early in 2015.

Support for the ICE facility mostly revolves around restoring jobs lost to the prison’s 2023 shutdown, and a general belief in policing illegal immigration.

So far Marana leadership has kept the issue at arm’s length: In late September, the town released an official statement that it holds no authority on whether the facility operates as a prison or as a detention center. 

The release seemed to proffer a clear message that the facility is imminent, and that countermeasures, at that point, were not in the cards for the town. “Marana Police Department remains committed to community safety and will work with all law enforcement partners, including the facility’s operators, to serve that goal,” read the statement from Mayor Jon Post.

Publicizing possible measures was one mission of PRI.C.E.’s press conference.

“While the federal government operates in secrecy, local residents and their elected public officials across the country are pushing back against these facilities using zoning, public nuisance complaints, and other means,” Rep. Grijalva said.

Immigration attorney Daniela Ugaz urged the town of Marana to review MTC’s records, which she argued will disqualify the company from a business license, and if they don’t, to create enforceable regulations and penalties for the center. She also brought up the possibility of the facility being a public nuisance under town or state law.

During the meeting, Councilmember Patrick Cavanaugh voiced his own opposition to the ICE detention center.

“I really want to make sure, to the residents, that I heard you tonight, and I share your deep concerns about the ICE detention center, Councilmember Cavanaugh said. “The way I see it, I don’t think anyone in this room truly wants this detention center in our midst. Marana is a safe and diverse community of young families, retirees, and everyone in between. A private ICE detention center does not belong here, and I understand the fear it evokes. While MTC operates on private property under federal contracts, it means the Town Council cannot legally stop it from operating.” 

“Limited authority does not mean that we can look away,” Councilmember Cavanaugh said.