A four-year-old building on the southeast side of Surprise, Arizona may be reconverted into a processing and detention facility for the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency.
The 418,000-square-foot structure is located at the intersection of N. Dysart Road and Sweetwater Avenue, close to a suburban residential section of the city known as Dysart Park.
The structure was completed in early 2022 on a site that was previously vacant and was purchased some months ago by DHS for $70 million in what has been described as an “all-cash” transaction.
Reports indicate that the building could house anywhere from 500 to 1,500 detainees.
Last month Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sent a letter to Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary, asking for information about the project “prior to starting any construction or operational activities.”
Noem has since published a correspondence maintaining that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is “committed to safe, secure, and humane environments for those in its custody, no matter what type of facility in which they are housed.”
It is not yet known when work on the Surprise facility will begin, or when the center is expected to become operational.
March 3, 2026
By Garry Boulard
