July 8 order pauses Surprise ICE facility conversion pending environmental review
A federal judge has placed the proposed conversion of a Surprise warehouse into an ICE detention center on hold while the federal government completes an environmental review.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona entered the stipulated stay order July 8 in Arizona v. Mullin, case No. 2:26-cv-02857. The order bars detention operations and physical conversion work at the proposed facility, while leaving the project’s ultimate fate unresolved.
What the July 8 order prohibits
While the stay remains in effect, federal agencies may not detain people at the proposed Surprise facility. They also may not begin construction, demolition, retrofitting or other physical work to convert the warehouse for detention use.
The order stays the litigation and defers briefing on Arizona’s request for a preliminary injunction. It does not cancel the project or decide whether the facility can eventually open.
The order allows certain activities that do not constitute physical conversion, including maintenance, security, planning, engineering and permitting work, according to the case summary.
Environmental review must come first
Before the project can advance, the federal government must complete additional environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. The process is expected to produce a final environmental assessment and associated decision document, or an environmental impact statement and record of decision if federal officials determine that an EIS is required.
The July 8 order does not say the review is complete. Instead, it keeps detention operations and the warehouse conversion paused until the required review and decision documents are completed.
Reports are due every 60 days
The federal government must file a status report with the court 60 days after the order and every 60 days afterward until the environmental review is complete. Because the order was entered July 8, the first report is due September 6, 2026, unless the court changes the schedule.
The reports must track the environmental-review process through completion of the final environmental assessment and decision document, or completion of an environmental impact statement and record of decision if an EIS is required.
Arizona has reserved the right to challenge the adequacy of the completed review. That would be a later legal step; the current order does not determine whether the federal review will be sufficient.
The proposed Surprise facility
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office identified the proposed site as a warehouse on Sweetwater Avenue in Surprise. The state’s April complaint said federal officials purchased a vacant industrial warehouse in the city for approximately $70 million and intended to convert it into an immigration detention facility.
Arizona’s complaint referenced capacity estimates ranging from 500 to 1,500 detainees, while noting that reports differed. That range is not a final operating capacity.
The complaint also raised concerns about water, wastewater, roads, emergency services, nearby schools and a chemical-storage facility. Those are allegations made by the state, not findings by the court.
For Surprise residents, the immediate consequence is that no one may be detained at the proposed facility and physical conversion work cannot begin while the court-ordered pause remains in effect. The next major developments will be the federal government’s environmental-review filings and the court’s response to them.
The project remains proposed rather than canceled. Its future will depend on the environmental review, the resulting federal decision documents and any additional court challenges.
Sources
- Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse — Arizona v. Mullin docket and case summary
- Arizona Attorney General's Office — Surprise ICE facility stipulation
- Bloomberg Law — Proposed Arizona ICE Facility Shelved by Court Pending Review
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