Santa Clara County Officials Outline Next Steps in Fight Over Gilroy ICE Facility
Santa Clara County officials shared new details on Monday about next steps in a legal battle over the Trump administration’s blocked plan to build a new immigration detention facility in Gilroy.
Following a federal judge’s preliminary injunction issued Friday, the parties have a deadline of Sept. 30 to settle the guidelines on how the federal government will interact with the land while construction is paused, County Counsel Tony LoPresti said.
“It’s a huge victory for the community, for the county, for this state,” LoPresti said at a press conference Monday at the Santa Clara County Government Center. “And we think it sends a signal: that this kind of infrastructure for detention facilities and immigration enforcement shouldn’t be able to proceed without compliance with the law.”
In June, LoPresti’s office and the state’s attorney general sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security for not having consulted with the state or the county before beginning construction of a new detention facility in Gilroy.
The county argued that the construction and placement of the facility could overwhelm the area’s septic system, among other harm to the environment and neighboring communities.
LoPresti said the land, having been used previously as a pesticide and seed research facility for 30 years, is a bad location to build a new facility because it could contain carcinogens, pathogens and other hazardous chemicals.
“That’s part of the reason why this just isn’t the right place to build an office space with holding facilities where you’re going to have humans there on the daily,” LoPresti said.
Both sides will negotiate further specifics on handling of the site while construction is paused, LoPresti continued. This includes discussing if the county can inspect the property to check for hazardous materials.
“They should walk away from this project now, cut their losses and understand that they made bad decisions to try to put this project where it doesn’t belong,” LoPresti said.
In a statement on Monday, ICE said the new facility is intended to be “a new ICE office,” not a detention center like the Golden State Annex in McFarland, California or the California City Immigration Processing Center.
“Like ICE offices across the country, it will include temporary, short-term holding rooms for individuals awaiting transfer to another facility or release,” the statement read.
“Planning and development for this project have been ongoing for several years.”
The Department of Homeland Security added that the agency is building more facilities after hiring more personnel, thanks to increased funding from what they called “the Big Beautiful Bill.” ICE has hired an additional 12,000 ICE officers and agents across the country, increasing its workforce by 120%, the statement said.