ICE warehouse in Arizona targeted by arsonist days after massive community protests
Someone tried to burn down a Surprise, Arizona, warehouse that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to turn into a 1,500-bed detention center, according to the federal agency.
On Saturday, “an individual committed arson on a newly purchased ICE building” by breaking a window, igniting a fire and throwing a propane tank into the building, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.
“The fire was quickly extinguished by the interior sprinkler system,” DHS said, noting that the suspect fled the scene after setting the fire. “The matter remains under investigation by the FBI.”
DHS referred further questions to the FBI, which said that Surprise police officers responded to the warehouse at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday to a report of criminal damage at the building.
“FBI Phoenix special agents arrived on scene and discovered a broken window and evidence of minor and limited fire activity. The FBI has opened an investigation with assistance from ATF. No further information is available while the investigation continues,” the FBI said in a written statement.
DHS last month purchased the 418,400-square-foot warehouse in Surprise so it could turn it into a detention center in service of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The purchase is one of many across the country, and was authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the tax cut and spending package that Trump championed and Republicans in Congress approved last year.
People detained in ICE facilities nationwide reached an all-time high of 70,766 in January, doubling what it was when Trump took office. Although Trump has said his deportation efforts are targeting criminals, only 25 percent of those detained in January had a criminal record.
There are already six detention centers in Arizona, with a combined capacity of 3,341 beds.
The plan for the Surprise facility has become a flashpoint for local opposition, with multiple protests calling for the purchase to be terminated and more than 1,000 people recently showing up to a Surprise City Council meeting to urge elected officials to stop the detention center.
Similar outrage and violence has occurred in other cities. Police in Kansas City are searching for a woman who attempted to set fireto a facility that was planned to be used by ICE, though the company that owned the property had already decided to not move forward with the sale.
Saturday morning, the Mirror saw a single broken window near the entrance to the large warehouse. One man in an ICE tactical vest was standing guard inside, while a woman stood in the front entrance.
A man and woman, likely FBI agents, were inside the building. Later, they put an object in an evidence bag. Glass was seen strewn across the sidewalk in front of the building and into the parking lot.