Pima Resists ICE - PRICE

10/07/2026

Last night, we held a press conference to shine a light on the actions Town of Marana - Government can STILL take despite the MTC-DHS contract being signed last week. Over the past year, PRICE has done the due diligence that our council should have been doing.

We were honored to have U.S. Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, as well as Bonnie from Pima County Supervisor Jennifer Allen’s office, join us outside the council chambers for the press conference. Thank you both for your continued support of our efforts and for all you do to protect Southern Arizona.

We also heard from the whistleblower who brought MTC’s sexual abuse cover-up to light, Alex Randall.

And finally- our own Daniela Ugaz shared all the ways PRICE has learned that Marana can still take action to protect their community:

🚨Deny MTC a business license - they DO NOT meet the Marana Town requirements for a license!

🚨Deny MTC the permits they need!

🚨If Marana won’t deny the license or permits, then attach requirements and penalties to reign MTC in!

🚨Justify why a detention center is being permitted in this zoning area!

After the press conference, we took our message directly to the people elected to serve our community during the Marana Town Council meeting. We heard from many compelling speakers, and could have heard from more if Town of Marana Mayor Jon Post had not restricted commenting. The council won’t hold a public forum or add the detention center to their agenda, and they also won’t let the community speak during council meetings. Community members are doing the council’s job for them, and even then, the council does not want to hear from us.

Call, email, and post- spread the word. There are concrete actions that Marana can take. We have sent them detailed letters with all the information they need to take these actions. Hold them accountable!

10/01/2026

“We aren’t done fighting this thing. Not by a long shot.” Stay tuned for action alerts and opportunities to get involved!

09/30/2026

September 30, 2026

LOCAL ADVOCATES UNDETERRED AS ICE AWARDS CONTRACT TO MTC FOR IMMIGRANT DETENTION CENTER IN MARANA, AZ

TUCSON–Yesterday, the US Department of Homeland Security signed a contract with Management and Training Corporation (MTC) of Provo, UT for “comprehensive housing, transportation, and medical services at the Marana detention facility.”

The contract comes one day after a scathing report from LOOKOUT and The Intercept exposed multiple instances of sexual abuse in the Marana facility that MTC did not report to federal regulators as required under the Prison R**e Elimination Act.

The contract with MTC begins September 30, 2026 and extends for five years, until September 29, 2031. The total value of the contract is listed at $355,485,727. There is an additional “task order,” signed on the same day pursuant to the contract valued at $25,808,435. The description for the task order is identical to the contract–”comprehensive housing, transportation, and medical services.” The total value is just under $400 million.

The document itself does not specify the population capacity for the facility. This number has been in dispute since DHS issued a Final Notice and Public Review for proposed activity in a 100-year floodplain. That document noted that the facility would be expanding housing capacity from 506 detainees to 775 through various upgrades (health services area, food service area) plus the potential of 600 additional temporary beds, bringing capacity to over 1,300.

MTC and Marana Town officials insisted that there is no plan for temporary beds. A statement sent to reporters from MTC’s Director of Communications, Emily Lawhead states that the facility will be 775 beds at full capacity. To date, DHS has not clarified whether or not it has scrapped plans for the additional 600 temporary beds.

This lack of transparency is typical of both the for-profit prison industry and the current administration of DHS. “The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing,” remarked PRICE member Bennett Burke. “The heads of agencies keep changing and the administration keeps re-writing the rules. This reckless acceleration of enforcement and detention is a runaway train and it’s only a matter of time before it goes completely off the rails.”

PRICE has worked tirelessly for over 6 months to raise the alarm about MTC’s checkered past and the negative impacts an ICE camp would have on Marana and Southern Arizona. They’ve circulated petitions, held protests, sent letters, and pleaded with the Town Council to take action to oppose the facility. Town officials insist their hands are tied because the contract is between a private corporation and the federal government.

Yet, Pima County and the City of Tucson and City of South Tucson have all passed resolutions opposing the ICE camp. Increasingly, towns across the country are taking creative legal and regulatory action against these facilities, including Surprise, AZ, which saw a referendum push to disincorporate the city to stop the conversion of a warehouse to an ICE camp.

PRICE organizers are disappointed to learn that the contract was signed, but remain undeterred. “We aren’t done fighting this thing. Not by a longshot,” said Kristin Downing, another member of PRICE. “We have been talking with legal experts, doing research, building alliances, and exploring creative ways to make sure this camp never opens. We care too much about our community to just give up.”

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PRICE is a grassroots coalition of local advocates, community members, and organizations who are working to support immigrants, fight against mass incarceration, and dismantle the systems that uphold white supremacy in our community. We are committed to standing up for our neighbors in Pima County, with a focus on preventing the ICE detention center from opening in Marana.

Pima Resists ICE |PRICE NO ICE DETENTION CENTER IN MARANA!Help us stop Management and Training Corporation from opening an ICE facility in our community Who We Are PRICE is a grassroots coalition comprised of local advocates, community members, and organizations who are working to support immigrants...

09/30/2026

From Management & Training Corporation, the people that brought you the Kingman escapes and riots now comes revelations that the Town of Marana - Government prison had multiple instances of sexual abuse that went unreported. Tell Town Council to step up and take action to protect our community!

Town of Marana Mayor Jon Post
Herb Kai - Marana Councilman

09/29/2026

💣💣💣 Today, LOOKOUT Publications and The Intercept released a bombshell article documenting multiple instances of sexual abuse in its Marana prison that it failed to report to federal regulators. Town of Marana - Government should be wondering what else MTC is hiding. Are we really going to let this abusive, unaccountable corporation back into Marana?

A whistleblower say the warden didn’t make a federally required disclosure. Now the company is turning the Arizona prison into an ICE jail.

06/24/2026

Did you catch PRICE in last week’s Explorer? When fathers, husbands, and sons are detained, children lose stability, businesses lose workers and communities lose connection.

Join us in saying NO to a detention center in Marana!

06/19/2026

(spanish text below)

Drone shots provided by: BG Boyd

Marana could become home to a massive ICE detention facility — and we don't want that here.

Management and Training Corporation couldn't appropriately staff or manage a population of nearly 300. Now they want to scale that to 1,300. The renovation costs alone to get that facility fully functional will be staggering — and that's before you even talk about expansion.
Not to mention, when this closes — because it will close, just like the warehouse facilities they've been purchasing and shutting down across the nation — what are we left with? Wasted jobs. Wasted taxpayer money. Wasted land. Wasted potential. Marana stuck holding the bag again.

This is not final. Get informed. Get involved. We don't want MTC's rotten track record, or an ICE detention center, in our community.

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Tomas de drones proporcionadas por: BG Boyd
Marana podría convertirse en el hogar de una instalación de detención masiva ICE — y no la queremos aquí.
Management and Training Corporation no pudo dotar de personal ni gestionar adecuadamente a una población de casi 300 personas. Ahora quiere aumentarla a 1,300.
Los costos de renovación solo para que esa instalación funcione por completo serán impactantes —y eso sin siquiera hablar sobre la expansión
Sin mencionar que cuando esto se cierre — porque se cerrará, como las instalaciones de almacenes que se han estado comprando y cerrando en todo el país — ¿con qué nos quedamos? Empleos perdidos. Dinero de los contribuyentes desperdiciado. Tierra desaprovechada. Potencial desperdiciado. Marana nuevamente atrapada con el problema.
Esto no es definitivo. Infórmate. Participa. No queremos el historial podrido del Concejo Municipal de Marana ( MTC) ni un centro de detención de ICE en nuestra comunidad.

06/19/2026

PRICE’s official public comment we submitted to DHS:

Re: Final Notice and Public Review of a Proposed Activity in a 100-Year Floodplain - Detention Facility Enhancements in Marana, Arizona

To whom it may concern:

Pima Resist ICE (PRICE) is a coalition of community members throughout Pima County, Arizona, organized in opposition to the proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Marana (“the facility”). We are writing in response to the final notice of proposed activity by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published June 11, 2026, which announces the agency’s intent to proceed with contracting for and construction of the facility. This notice also describes extensive, disruptive construction of the facility and a shocking increase in capacity from the facility’s existing beds to a “total expandable capacity [of] over 1,300.” We take this opportunity to inform you of salient facts and procedural requirements.

The scope of construction and operation of this facility, as described in the final notice and contracting documents, promise significant impact on the floodplain and surrounding environment. DHS seeks to establish a detention center in the existing Marana Community Correctional Treatment Center building, an unoccupied, minimum-security facility on the banks of the Santa Cruz River. According to the final notice, DHS will be expanding the facility’s medical and intake areas, adding additional holding cells, and adding significant infrastructure to the exterior of the building, including through the construction of an additional fence and drainage system.

A performance work statement published as part of DHS’s February 25, 2026 sole-source solicitation for the facility describes these renovations more clearly. There, DHS details that the facility would need to accommodate detainees of all security levels, would need a concrete parking lot of at least 40 spaces, would require a video surveillance system compliant with the Prison R**e Elimination Act (PREA), virtual attorney visitation capacity, including private rooms, room for group legal orientations, an HVAC system that exhausts to the exterior, 100% auxiliary power, non-segregated protective custody capacity, and additional outside lighting to illuminate the entire perimeter of the facility. Due to the historic use of this facility, its age, and years left unoccupied, these requirements would all but certainly require renovations.With a projected population of over 1,300 people, these renovations are sure to include significant expansion of the facility.

The existing facility is designed to hold just over 500 people. DHS’s proposed use would expand capacity to over 1,300. The agency’s description of necessary construction belies the scale of that expansion, which would require significant additions to the facility and its infrastructure. DHS asserts that the necessary expansion and renovations would not increase the facility's footprint, however they do not detail how they would safely accommodate a doubling in the detained population without expanding the bounds of the facility. Simply put, this assertion is unsupported and unsupportable.

Additionally, DHS’s final notice contains no serious discussion of the impact of occupancy and operation of the proposed facility on the floodplain. Given the significant increase in population, additional strain on wastewater use and management, and consistent ingress to and egress from the facility, an analysis that does not take into account this phase of impact is inadequate.

DHS has rushed this process with a week-long public comment period announced in a release buried on its website. It is woefully inadequate to provide the public, with little visible notice, with only a week to comment on the impacts to the 100-year floodplain by a project of this magnitude, even more so if DHS intends for this notice to stand in for broader environmental review. Threatened impacts to floodplains are not a hypothetical for Arizonans, who have long grappled with deadly flash floods and dangerous torrents driven by intense seasonal monsoon storms and the erosion and scouring of flood plains due to the rapid construction and urbanization of desert landscapes. Threats to the floodplain endanger both Marana town residents and those held and working in the proposed facility.

Beyond the floodplain, the potential environmental impacts of this proposed construction and operation are wide-ranging and require careful study and opportunity for public comment. The existing facility sits on the banks of the Santa Cruz River, overlooking an effluent stretch teeming with life. This delicate ecosystem will be impacted by ongoing construction, transportation into and out of the facility, waste water and other output during and after construction, light pollution from the secure perimeter, and other unstudied aspects of this proposed project. While the existing structure may not cause these disruptions, both the activity required to comport with the performance work statement and the operation of the facility represent a significantly larger footprint.

This final notice purports to be compliant with Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, but does not alleviate DHS of its requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). As DHS has been made aware in jurisdictions across the country, it is required to comply with NEPA prior to taking major federal actions. As DHS routinely fails to do so, it has been met with swift legal action that has halted construction.

This final notice does not stand in for the environmental review required under NEPA and does not approach the level of analysis required by law. Instead, the notice glances at a few aspects of facility expansion, summarizes activities broadly, and focuses on construction alone with no mention of occupancy and operation.

We are under no illusions that this administration will balk in the face of significant human rights or environmental concerns unless made to do so. We therefore thank DHS for this notice, and remind it of its recent failures to expand immigration detention capacity in jurisdictions across the country.

Sincerely,

Pima Resist ICE
[email protected]

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Comentario oficial público de PRICE presentando al DHS:
Re: Aviso final y revisión pública de una actividad propuesta en una zona de inundación de 100 años - Mejoras en la instalación de detención en Marana, Arizona

A quien corresponda:

Pima Resist ICE (PRICE) es una coalición con miembros de la comunidad de todo el condado Pima, Arizona; organizada en oposición al propuesto centro de detención del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) en Marana (“la instalación”). Estamos escribiendo en respuesta al aviso final de la actividad propuesta por el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS), publicado el 11 de junio de 2026 que anuncia su intención de proceder con la contratación y la construcción de la instalación. Este aviso también describe la construcción extensa y disruptiva de la instalación y del aumento impactante de su capacidad, aumentando las camas existentes de la instalación a una capacidad “total expandible de más de 1,300”. Aprovechamos esta oportunidad para informarle sobre hechos relevantes y requisitos del procedimiento
El alcance de la construcción y operación de esta instalación, tal como se describe en el aviso final y en los documentos de contratación, promete un impacto significativo en la zona de inundación y en el entorno circundante. DHS busca establecer un centro de detención en el edificio existente Marana Community Correctional Treatment Center, instalación desocupada de seguridad mínima, ubicado en la orilla del río Santa Cruz. Según el aviso final, DHS ampliará las áreas médicas y de ingreso a la instalación, agregando celdas de detención adicionales y una infraestructura significativa en el exterior del edificio, incluyendo la construcción de una cerca adicional y un sistema de drenaje.

La declaración de trabajo basada en el desempeño publicada como parte de la solicitud de de fuente única del DHS del 25 de febrero de 2026 para la instalación describe estas renovaciones de manera más clara. Allí, DHS detalla que la instalación necesitaría acomodar a detenidos de todos los niveles de seguridad, requeriría un estacionamiento de concreto con al menos 40 espacios, un sistema de videovigilancia compatible con la Ley de Eliminación de Violaciones en Prisiones (PREA), capacidad de visitas virtuales de abogados, incluyendo salas privadas, espacio para orientaciones legales grupales, un sistema de HVAC que expulse el aire al exterior, 100% de energía auxiliar, capacidad de custodia protectora no segregada e iluminación adicional para todo el perímetro de la instalación. Debido al uso histórico de esta instalación, su antigüedad por los años que ha estado desocupada, es casi seguro que todos estos requisitos requerirán renovaciones. Con una población proyectada a más de 1,300 personas, estas renovaciones seguramente incluirán una expansión significativa de la instalación.
La instalación existente está diseñada para acomodar un poco más de 500 personas. La propuesta de DHS del uso aumentaría la capacidad para más de 1.300 La descripción de la agencia sobre la construcción necesaria oculta la magnitud de esa expansión, la cual requeriría adiciones significativas en la instalación y en la infraestructura. DHS afirma que la expansión y las renovaciones necesarias no aumentarán el área de la instalación. Pero no detalla cómo van a acomodar, de manera segura, el doble de la población detenida sin expandir los límites de la instalación. En pocas palabras, esta afirmación no tiene respaldo y no puede sostenerse.
Además, el aviso final del DHS no incluye una discusión seria sobre el impacto de la ocupación y operación de la instalación propuesta en la zona de inundación. Dado al aumento significativo de la población, la presión adicional sobre el uso de aguas residuales y el flujo constante de entrada y salida de la instalación, un análisis que no toma en cuenta esta fase de impacto es insuficiente.
DHS anunció en una publicación poco visible en su sitio web que ha acelerado este proceso, con un período de comentarios públicos de una semana Es totalmente insuficiente dar a conocer al público sobre un proyecto de esta magnitud, a través de un aviso poco visible, dando solo una semana para comentar sobre los impactos en la zona inundación de 100 años. Y más aún si DHS pretende que este aviso sustituya una revisión ambiental más amplia. Los posibles impactos para los habitantes de Arizona en la zona de inundación no son hipotéticos ya que desde hace mucho tiempo enfrentan inundaciones repentinas mortales y corrientes peligrosas impulsadas por intensas tormentas monzónicas estacionales, así como la erosión y el desgaste de las zonas de inundación, debido a la rápida construcción y urbanización de los paisajes desérticos. Las amenazas para la zona de inundación ponen en peligro tanto a los residentes de Marana como a quienes se encuentran detenidos o trabajan en la instalación propuesta.
Más allá de la zona de inundación, los posibles impactos ambientales de esta construcción y operación propuestas son extensos y requieren un estudio cuidadoso y la oportunidad de recibir comentarios del público. La instalación existente se encuentra a orillas del río Santa Cruz, con vistas a un tramo de aguas residuales rebosante de vida. Este delicado ecosistema se verá afectado por la construcción en curso, el transporte hacia y desde la instalación, las aguas residuales y otras descargas durante y después de la construcción, así como la contaminación lumínica del perímetro de seguridad y otros aspectos no estudiados de este proyecto propuesto. Si bien la estructura existente puede no causar estas alteraciones, tanto la actividad necesaria para cumplir con la declaración de trabajo basada en el desempeño como la operación de la instalación representan un impacto significativamente mayor.

Este aviso final pretende cumplir con la Orden Ejecutiva 11988, Gestión de zonas de inundación, pero no exime al DHS de sus obligaciones bajo la Ley Nacional de Política Ambiental (NEPA). DHS ha sido informado sobre las jurisdicciones de todo el país y se requiere que cumpla con NEPA antes de tomar acciones federales importantes. Dado que DHS suele no hacerlo, ha enfrentado acciones legales rápidas que han detenido la construcción.
Este aviso final no reemplaza la evaluación ambiental requerida por NEPA y no alcanza el nivel de análisis exigido por la ley. En cambio, el aviso apenas toca algunos aspectos de la expansión de las instalaciones, resume las actividades de manera general y se centra únicamente en la construcción, sin mencionar la ocupación ni la operación.
No nos hacemos ilusiones de que esta administración va a detenerse ante las preocupaciones importantes sobre los derechos humanos o del medio ambiente, a menos que se le obligue a hacerlo. Por eso agradecemos al DHS por este aviso y le recordamos sus recientes fracasos al ampliar la capacidad de detención migratoria en jurisdicciones de todo el país.
Atentamente,
Pima Resist ICE
[email protected]

06/18/2026

(spanish text below)

ATTENTION MARANA COMMUNITY:

Your town leadership is feigning ignorance of the FACTS and expecting us to do the same. According to the latest DHS posting, they are aiming to create a mega-warehouse in Marana with capacity to hold over 1,300 people. Faced with this new information, our local leaders are refusing to ask the questions they should be- are they afraid or do they just not care? Instead of conducting due-dilligence, they are handing DHS the keys to our beautiful town.

DHS plans to speedrun extensive construction to the Marana Prison and to warehouse over 1,300 people inside, over double the previous population, as evidenced by the latest DHS posting. Meanwhile, our Council won’t even hold a public forum or add discussion of this proposal to their agenda. Instead, when confronted with the facts, they hide behind MTC’s promises, expecting us to believe a problematic company with a proven track record of fraud and abuse.

It’s time for our town council to listen to their constituents instead of DHS and MTC, and have a frank conversation about the FACTS. Enough with the platitudes and lies– we deserve better! The Marana Town Council must hold an immediate public forum to hear from constituents on this proposed project.

You can find contact information for city council members and other town leadership here:

Marana Town Council: https://www.maranaaz.gov/Council/Council-Bios

Marana City Manager: https://www.maranaaz.gov/Departments/Town-Managers-Office

Call today and let our town leadership know: we’re not falling for it.

~~

ATENCIÓN COMUNIDAD DE MARANA:

El liderazgo de su pueblo finge ignorancia sobre los HECHOS y está esperando que nosotros hagamos lo mismo. Según la publicación más reciente del DHS están planeando crear un mega-almacén en Marana con capacidad para más de 1,300 personas. Ante esta nueva información, nuestros líderes locales se niegan a hacer las preguntas que deberían hacer ¿tienen miedo o simplemente no les importa? En lugar de realizar la debida diligencia, les están entregando las llaves de nuestro hermoso pueblo al DHS.

Según la publicación más reciente del DHS planean acelerar la construcción extensa de la Prisión de Marana y acomodar a más de 1,300 personas, doblando la población anterior. Mientras tanto, nuestro consejo ni siquiera organizará un foro público ni añadirá la discusión de esta propuesta a su agenda. En cambio, cuando se les confronta con los hechos, se esconden detrás de las promesas del Concejo Municipal de Marana (MTC), esperando que creamos en una empresa problemática con un historial comprobado de fraude y abuso. Ya es hora de que nuestro consejo escuche a sus residentes en lugar de escuchar al DHS y al MTC y tener una conversación franca sobre los HECHOS. ¡Ya basta de frases vacías y mentiras; merecemos algo mejor! El Concejo Municipal de Marana debe organizar de inmediato un foro público para escuchar a los residentes sobre este proyecto propuesto.
Puedes encontrar información de contacto de los miembros del Concejo Municipal y otros líderes municipales aquí:
Concejo Municipal de Marana:
https://www.maranaaz.gov/Council/Council-Bios

Administrador Municipal de Marana: https://www.maranaaz.gov/Departments/Town-Managers-Office
Llama hoy y hazle saber a los líderes municipales: no vamos a caer en esto.