ICE says Gilroy facility may hold 10 detainees at a time, but maximum remains unknown

A planned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Gilroy could hold about 10 detainees at a time, ICE said in a new court filing, while acknowledging that its maximum capacity may be higher.

The disclosure provides the clearest information yet about the detention and operations facility, which California and Santa Clara County are suing to stop. It also leaves unresolved a key concern raised by the state and county: how many people ICE ultimately could detain there.

“Maximum occupancy of the facility will be determined once remodeling is complete,” ICE said in the filing Wednesday in San Jose federal court.

“Approximately 10 detainees total might be held in the on-site holding area temporarily at one time, though the maximum capacity may be higher.”

The California Attorney General’s Office and the County Counsel’s office of Santa Clara County in a joint statement Friday responded that ICE “has made no commitments regarding the maximum capacity of the holding area” and that “facilities such as this one are frequently overcrowded.”

ICE rejected as “erroneous” the state and county’s estimate that the facility could detain as many as 150 people, along with their allegation that the project could harm endangered species.

The federal government previously told this news organization as recently as mid-June, “We have no new detention centers planned at this location,” despite publicly available leasing documents indicating such a plan. This week’s filing provides the most detailed explanation to date of the government’s plans for the property in unincorporated Santa Clara County just outside Gilroy.

ICE said in the filing it needs the facility because the lease for its nearby Morgan Hill field office expires at the end of August and the office will soon close.

“If the Gilroy project is delayed, ICE would have to rely on existing facilities that are farther away and already support other operational needs,” the filing said.

This is a map showing the location of a planned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility just outside of the eastern boundary of Gilroy, Calif.

A delay also would place a “significant burden” on people in deportation proceedings who are not in custody and must report to ICE, the agency said.

California and Santa Clara County , claiming federal officials skirted environmental laws, ignored local land-use restrictions and failed to consult with state or county leaders. Later that month, the state and county asked the court for a temporary injunction halting the project while the case proceeds.

The proposal for 7240 Holsclaw Road, just east of Highway 101, has also drawn significant local opposition. Under a court-approved agreement with the state and county, ICE agreed last month to pause work at the property until Sept. 9.

“The Federal government wants the court to endorse an act-now-think-later approach to a development that will have a profound and lasting negative impact on the environment and the community,” the Attorney General’s Office said in the statement Friday.

ICE countered that the request for an injunction, filed with hundreds of pages of reports about the property, rests on “an 800-page stack of questionable assumptions.”

The state and county allege the facility could overwhelm the property’s septic system, disturb hazardous materials and cause other environmental harm. ICE called those concerns unfounded.

The agency said that prior owners of the property conducted pesticide research and, according to the state and county’s own filing, mismanaged hazardous materials at the property for decades.

The state and county “have no evidence that the site is currently contaminated, and they have not shown that using the facility as an office space (without any pesticide or other agricultural research) will cause more environmental harm than the uses that Plaintiffs allowed for years,” ICE said.

ICE said it has leased the property but has not taken possession.

The agency also said a federal leasing officer told a Santa Clara County planner in late 2022 or early 2023 that the government wanted to use the property as office and operations space for ICE. According to ICE’s account, the planner said the project “may proceed since the Federal Government is exempt from local regulations.”

A hearing on the state and county’s request to temporarily halt the project is scheduled for Sept. 8 in San Jose federal court.