ICE detention facility

In Call to the Public he challenged the town's 'out of our hands' stance on the ICE facility, questioning occupancy fitness and safety planning; later he urged the Council to pull the data center ordinance and take a different, risk-based approach.

Urged the Council to deny Management and Training Corporation a business license, citing town code grounds of fraud and menace to public health, safety, or welfare, with examples from Arizona and New Mexico.

Demanded a formal, public zoning determination for the MTC parcel and a public agenda item on the business license, saying the town hasn't required the process the code demands.

Asked the council to honor a resolution on detainee food, health care, legal access, and abuse reporting that he says the mayor and council endorsed at a June candidate forum, and cited the MTC scandal over a falsified PREA report. He also asked for more public review of data center code revisions.

Warned the facility will be running by November 30 and said residents are worried — she asked the town to share emergency plans and agreements with police, fire, and hospitals, and said the public has a right to that information.

Pressed the council with a list of unanswered questions — who will be held there, whether children or pregnant women will be detained, medical care burdens on local hospitals, aquifer impacts, lighting, and safeguards against MTC understaffing or another Kingman-style escape.

Rejected the town's claim that it has no authority, arguing the town code lets the council deny MTC a business license over fraud, misrepresentation, and threats to public safety — citing the unreported sexual abuse, Kingman security failures, and more than 25 lawsuits over unpaid staff.

The whistleblower in the MTC case — a former accounting clerk at the prison — said a sexual assault was being investigated two weeks before the PREA audit certified there were none, that the matter is now with the Attorney General, and asked the council to investigate as well.

A 32-year Minnesota corrections veteran warned that private prisons are 'pay for play' operations that profit by stacking inmates, skimp on food, medical care, and recreation, and predicted the detention center will define Marana's reputation — for the worse.

Came after seeing Marana featured on national television and, hearing of the sexual assault allegations, urged accountability for everyone involved and praised the whistleblower — asking the council to listen.

Praised the mayor's on-time campaign finance reporting, then raised concerns about the ICE facility's opening date, emergency agreements with local police, and impacts on police resources.

A Tucson resident who shops and worships in Marana supported a detention facility, citing prior administration immigration policies and saying prisons bring jobs, drawing on her experience as a prison nurse.

Supported reopening the correctional facility as an ICE detention center, citing roughly 200 jobs and economic benefits, and joked about Marana's 'Tangerine squeeze' traffic.

A Gladden Farms homeowner opposed the ICE facility, citing his work with detainees and inmates, noting 16 deaths in ICE custody this year, and saying the current administration does not respect civil rights.

Urged the council to look past political labels and consider safety and human rights impacts of a local detention center, citing a Holocaust-survivor family friend's fears.

Asked the council to end its silence and state a position on the facility, citing record deaths in ICE custody in 2025 and inspections finding medical and safety violations.

An educator who said she was heartbroken and asked the council 'what would Jesus do,' saying she couldn't believe anyone would want to be part of imprisoning people.

Invoked research on empathy in leadership and the Good Samaritan parable, calling ICE roundups cruel and racist and urging council members to do their duty to protect the vulnerable.

Read a lengthy list of DHS criminal alien arrests in support of the facility, calling ICE agents heroes and praising the council for maintaining 'common sense.'

Opposed broad characterizations of immigrants, describing conditions at detention centers including family separations, and questioned the HB 2873 striker bill that she was told came from a council member — which staff denied.

Urged the council to fact-check ICE's conduct independently and reconsider its position, recounting the detention of the wife of an Army sergeant at her marriage.

Argued that unlawful entry is a crime under federal statute, that federal law enforcement has constitutional authority in communities, and urged the Council to stand for law and order.

A 30-year Marana teacher who defended ICE's mission, compared border security to school safety procedures, and rejected calls to abolish the agency.

Argued the U.S. is a constitutional republic governed by rule of law, that the facility has proper zoning, and that the Council lacks constitutional authority to block the DHS-MTC agreement.

Called the detention push racism and white supremacy, citing statistics on immigrant crime rates and detention populations, and urged residents to condemn what he called an 'ICE concentration camp.'

Thanked the Council for resisting what she called propaganda, defended ICE and Marana PD officers, and cited rising assaults on law enforcement nationwide.

A retired physician who read from Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, arguing the Council has a moral duty to disobey unjust laws and question the detention facility.

Rejected fascist labels, thanked the Council for focusing on town business, and argued ICE is needed more than ever.

Expressed support for the facility, citing border crossings under the prior administration, statistics on ICE arrests, and calling ICE agents heroes.

Thanked the Council for staying within its role and read from the ICE performance work statement outlining required detention conditions, arguing oversight exists.

A nearby Silver Bell area resident and father of four who said his family would be honored to have the facility nearby and thanked the Council for its stance.

Longtime resident praised the council for staying neutral and letting MTC operate its private property, invoking the supremacy clause and urging members not to 'waver to the radicals.'

Presented a draft resolution asking the town to impose common-sense rules on federal agents — judicial warrants, no masks, no racial profiling — mirroring local police standards.

Called on the council to stop the detention facility 'out of conscience,' invoking Rosa Parks and civil disobedience, saying law does not overrule conscience.

A 30-year courts veteran questioned why the council won't pass an ordinance, cited MTC's record of abuse allegations, and warned opponents will remember at the next election.

Spoke in support of ICE agents, calling enforcement morally responsible and blaming the prior administration for the border situation.

Recounted the case of an Irish man detained by ICE in Boston despite his pending green card, describing horrific conditions at Fort Bliss including deaths and unsanitary housing.

Walked through the money math: ICE contracts pay MTC about $21,000 more per bed per year, potentially $10 million-plus if beds double — and asked why the town took no steps to prevent an ICE use.

Spoke of fear for her country and warned the council it would bear moral responsibility for any harm that occurs if the detention center opens.

Told the story of her niece's Cuban fiancé, an asylum seeker with no criminal record, who was shuffled through detention and ultimately dropped in Mexico with no answers from officials.

Argued the council should treat this like a business deal — MTC expects roughly $5 million in profit over three years, so a ~$20 million buyout could make them walk away — and urged a working group.

Reflected somberly on the suffering of detainees and wondered aloud what one person can do about it.

Urged an ordinance barring the detention center, citing her Native American husband's profiling risk and MTC's 2015 prison riot history that led Gov. Ducey to cancel its contract.

A 34-year resident pushed back on opponents' behavior at the last meeting and voiced support for ICE and the president's immigration enforcement.

A former narcotics officer and police trainer argued immigration law differs from criminal warrants, blamed the prior administration for the border crisis, and backed the facility under the rule of law.

A retired police officer called opposition claims 'extraordinary lies,' noted attacks on ICE agents, and defended the Marana police department.

Offered a prayer for the council, the audience, police officers, and ICE agents.

Said she now carries her passport out of fear of being stopped while speaking Spanish, and asked the council not to make Marana 'part of that stain' on the country's history.

A visitor who praised Marana's design and livability, then warned an ICE facility's documented record of abuse would ruin the town's reputation.

A Marana native of Mexican descent who said he has no problem with an ICE facility here, framed with garden metaphors about growth and pruning.

A teacher of 45 years who asked why Marana hasn't passed the resolution Tucson, South Tucson, and Pima County adopted, and implored the council to keep all 2,100 referendum signatures.

Invoked free speech, equal justice, and a 'higher law,' and told the council their hands aren't really tied — 'say no to a prison center that does not distinguish between the innocent and the guilty.'

Documented abuse reports at other ICE facilities (California City, Montana), warned of property value declines, and pointed to successful prison reuses — a preschool in Virginia, a movie soundstage in Staten Island.

A Tucson resident worried about human rights abuses, harm to tourism, and the region's reputation, urging the council to use whatever power it has to block the facility.

A 20-year Marana resident, he opposed the ICE detention center citing civil rights violations, the operator MTC's record of mistreatment, and feared negative economic and social impacts on the community.

An Oro Valley resident, she opposed the ICE detention center, citing allegations of ICE misconduct and the treatment of detainees.

An Oro Valley resident, he called the detention centers ethically wrong, warned Marana against depending on the prison industry, and called it a bad investment.

Speaking for Democracy Unites Us, he urged the council to resist the facility, citing private prison profits and claiming most detainees have no prior convictions.

She thanked Council Member Cavanaugh for meeting with residents, reported the Pima County Supervisors' same-day votes opposing the facility and restricting masked enforcement, and asked the council to adopt the resolution residents sent them.

An eight-year resident, she said she's ashamed, noted Marana reached national media on the Rachel Maddow Show, and urged the council to follow other cities that fought such facilities and won.

A retired Pima County victim services advocate, he opposed the facility, called for legal representation for immigrants, and promoted the Justice for All initiative to expand the public defender's office.

A young Gladden Farms resident who loves the community, she urged the council to place something on the ballot or agenda to work toward delaying or removing the detention center.

The lone supportive speaker, he said he supports ICE and enforcement of existing immigration law, saying people who entered the country illegally should have followed the legal process.