The city of Surprise now has a webpage to monitor the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility planned for their area.
The page offers a chronicled outline of the actions undertaken by the city and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as the current knowns, unknowns, and courses of action the city may take.
Last month, DHS and ICE entered into an agreement with Attorney General Kris Mayes to pause the conversion of a purchased West Sweetwater Avenue warehouse into a detention facility pending an environmental review in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Mayes sued to halt the property conversion in April.
ICE had originally estimated its initial intakes to occur around the end of May.
According to the DHS-Mayes agreement, DHS failed to engage in a proper environmental review. That concession by the federal government appears to conflict with earlier communications DHS had provided to city officials following a March meeting in Washington, D.C.
In those communications, DHS reported that ICE had completed a NEPA analysis in addition to a site history assessment, existing facility condition report, environmental due diligence audit, engineering assessments, and site feasibility assessments.
DHS had initially told Surprise that its warehouse conversion would have a negligible environmental impact and was therefore in compliance with NEPA.
“ICE processing centers share key operational and physical characteristics with industrial facilities, including a similar footprint and traffic patterns. Zoning conformity reports were conducted for all sites,” stated the DHS response. “Based on this analysis, DHS determined that the facility’s functional use remains consistent with the industrial use category and that the acquisition and modification do not introduce significant new environmental impact.”
City of Surprise officials stated that they weren’t made aware of the detention facility prior to the purchase of the warehouse for about $70 million in late January. The Surprise warehouse was one of multiple warehouse purchases across several states for similar conversion plans totaling more than $1 billion.
Mayor Kevin Sartor asked then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a February letter for more information about the planned detention facility and its potential impacts on the community. DHS staff met with Sartor and other Surprise officials the following month, and provided a four-page response with information on the planned facility.
According to those communications, the facility would contain 500 to 1,500 beds for the temporary intake and transfer of illegal aliens undergoing removal proceedings. DHS estimated that those aliens would remain in the facility for a week or less, and then they would be removed to a larger detention center.
It is unclear when, if ever, the Surprise detention facility will become operational.
After Markwayne Mullin succeeded Noem as secretary of DHS in March, the fate of the Surprise facility and others grew murky. Mullin expressed skepticism of Noem’s approach to immigration enforcement proceedings. The new secretary told The New York Times that he would like “lightning speed” deportations using existing detention space, not additional processing pathways at the expense of taxpayers.
DHS advised in court proceedings earlier this summer that it would offload or sell off seven of the warehouses purchased for more than $700 million collectively, though the Surprise warehouse wasn’t named among them.
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Gov. Katie Hobbs has campaigned on claims of success in negotiating protections for Arizona’s Colorado River water rights — but recent developments have indicated otherwise.
In late June, the governor promised Arizonans that she had successfully advocated for Arizona’s water rights. Hobbs characterized those negotiations as the “one problem” she solved in her four years as governor in an interview with 12 News.
One month later, the federal government announced that Arizona would face the largest Colorado River water cuts.
In her interview with 12 News, Hobbs indicated that the federal government had been persuaded by her contributions to the Lower Basin negotiations.
“We took on a lot of tough challenges that have been years in the making,” said Hobbs. “We have made huge progress in prioritizing Arizona’s Colorado River at the federal level to ensure that we can continue our economic position.”
Hobbs walked into negotiations with arguments no other state could make: Arizona uses Colorado River water to produce more fresh vegetables, advanced missile systems, advanced chip technologies, and critical minerals than other states. Yet, it appears Hobbs failed to make a compelling case for the federal government to divide water cuts more equally.
“All critical to America’s economic future, our national security, we do that with Colorado River water, and no other state can say that, and we’ve been making that case,” said Hobbs.
The Bureau of Reclamation announced last week that Arizonans would be required to cut water usage by up to 77% in 2027 and 2028.
Hobbs responded to the mandate with a plea to the federal government to adopt the proposal she and the other Lower Basin states put forward. The governor said she would continue to try to convince the federal government of Arizona’s importance to the nation with its agricultural and national security contributions.
“As the federal government finalizes their operating plans for 2027 and 2028, my administration will be working around the clock advocating for an approach that protects the stability of the system, distributes water reductions equitably, and ensures water security for all Colorado River water users,” said Hobbs. “I will continue making that case to the federal government and fighting relentlessly to protect Arizona’s fair share of the Colorado River so our families can feel confident we will have the water we need to turn on the taps, nourish our crops, and grow our economy well into the future.”
The Department of the Interior mentioned in its release of the new Colorado River operational guidelines that it had been unsuccessful in reaching a consensus with the basin states over the past six years.
Biggs described the federal mandate as an “Arizona last” measure, and said that the Upper Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming — were behind the years-long lack of consensus.
Even with the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Colorado River Basin, I will continue to take action to bring relief to our state and ensure that we can protect our citizens, agriculture industries, and everyone else relying on this life-giving resource. pic.twitter.com/97mD6XUhhh
In that same June interview, Hobbs said in her view that her historic veto record — more than 500 — didn’t cause Arizonans to lose out on any legislation that provided solutions.
“I am proud of the fact that I have signed over 800 bipartisan bills into law. I didn’t come here to veto bills,” said Hobbs.
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Gov. Katie Hobbs is rumored to have picked the leader of the Republicans for Harris movement to serve as her lieutenant governor should she win in November.
Unnamed sources toldThe New York Times that Hobbs picked John Giles as her running mate, a former Republican and the mayor of Mesa from 2014 to 2025. Giles co-chaired Republicans for Harris, a campaign advisory committee for 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Multiple media outlets reported that Giles was a “moderate Republican,” but voter records reflect that Giles changed his voter registration to be an independent back in May and voted in this year’s Democratic primary.
Giles was initially reported to be among a handful of candidates that had allegedly rejected Hobbs’ request, according to sources cited in earlier reporting by The New York Times.
Giles has been a consistent supporter of Hobbs leading up to and throughout her governorship.
Giles served on Hobbs’ transition team; as our reporting noted, Giles was one of several on the team with connections to a fellow transition team member running a nonprofit under investigation for pandemic loan fraud. Giles had backed a proposition put forth by that nonprofit granting in-state college tuition to illegal aliens.
Giles also issued a statement commending the governor on her first 100 days in office.
During the 2024 election, Giles was promoted as leading a coalition of Arizona Republicans campaigning for Harris via their communications director at the time, Delaney Corcoran, who is currently Attorney General Kris Mayes’ campaign manager and until recently, Mayes’ deputy communications director. Giles described President Donald Trump as the “path of political extremism.”
HAPPENING NOW: Arizona Republicans endorse Vice President Harris and slam Trump for his attacks on democracy. GOP leaders will form a new advisory committee to help the Harris for Arizona campaign reach Republicans who will reject MAGA from now until November 🗳️ pic.twitter.com/UKySKxC0LG
Giles’ public commitment to the Harris campaign occurred following a widely circulated guest column in the Arizona Republic in which he criticized pro-life and pro-gun policies as “far-right” threats to constitutional rights.
“Trump poses a serious threat to our nation. We can’t have a felon representing us on the national stage, let alone one who would threaten to abandon NATO and ruin our standing abroad,” wrote Giles in the column. “Kamala Harris is the competent, just and fair leader our country deserves. This year too much is at stake to vote Republican at the top of the ticket.”
While mayor of Mesa, Giles implemented the Off the Streets program, which provides 90-day transitional housing to the homeless using roughly $14 million in pandemic relief funds. Under Giles’ tenure and following the program’s launch in 2021, the homeless population increased by 31%. Giles structured the program using the Built for Zero approach promoted by the nonprofit Community Solutions.
Giles also ensured Mesa was the first in the state to have a Google data center.
Following Harris’s loss and his departure from the mayor’s office, it appears Giles’ involvement with Arizona Republicans for Harris concluded.
Arizona campaign finance records reflect just one expenditure mentioning Giles’ Arizona Republicans for Harris group: a $600 cash payment from the Democrats of Rim County to the organization in September 2024 for signs. The address for Giles’ group was listed as “Unknown, Phoenix, AZ, 85001.”
It appears Arizona Republicans for Harris was absorbed or combined with a political action committee (PAC) that helped Joe Biden win the presidency in 2020, Arizona Republicans Who Believe In Treating Others With Respect.
Daniel Barker, retired Arizona Court of Appeals judge and leader within the Maricopa County Mormon community, co-founded the PAC with his wife, Nan, in 2020.
No campaign finance records for the PAC were available as of this report on the Arizona secretary of state website. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records report the entity to be an active super PAC which reported raising more than $470,000 in 2024. Nearly half of those funds — $200,000 — came from the revocable trust belonging to Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. $125,000 came from Justin Durand, a Mesa guest ranch owner.
Most of the funds raised went to supporting the Harris campaign.
— AZRepublicansWhoBelieve (@AZ_Reps_Believe) October 1, 2024
At the national scale, Republicans for Harris has since rebranded as “Maverick,” a group of “bold centrists fighting for America.” It is maintained by Reed Howard, who formerly ran Young Republicans for Harris and currently serves as chief strategy officer for the Future Caucus.
Attorney General Kris Mayes wouldn’t confirm whether Gov. Katie Hobbs will be questioned as part of the investigation into the governor’s alleged pay-to-play scandal, which has been ongoing for more than two years.
Mayes was asked during a press conference announcing her lawsuit against the Trump administration’s tariffs on Monday whether it was possible that Hobbs would never sit for questioning.
“I’m going to decline to answer that question right now,” said Mayes.
Mayes’ office has asked Hobbs publicly to sit for questioning for months.
Despite needing a sit-down interview to proceed with the investigation, Mayes did promise to release the results of the investigation sometime before the general election in November. Left unsaid was the possibility that voters may not have those results until their ballots have already been cast in the highly competitive governor’s race between incumbent Hobbs and Republican Andy Biggs.
Mayes disagreed that Hobbs was shirking questioning and denied that the prolonged lack of communication between her and the governor on the matter had to do with Hobbs leaning on her power and status as the state’s chief executive, and their shared party affiliation.
“You cannot blow off the attorney general’s office. Full stop. No one can, regardless of who they are,” said Mayes. “When we have a result in this investigation, we will make an announcement. And we are near the end of the investigation.”
The investigation concerns an allegation that Hobbs directed a unique rate increase of 30% for Sunshine Residential Homes, a group home operator, as thanks for the company’s sizable 2024 election cycle donations totaling more than $400,000 to Hobbs and the Arizona Democratic Party. Hobbs was the only candidate to receive contributions from Simon Kottoor, founder and CEO of Sunshine Residential Homes.
While Sunshine Residential Homes received a rate increase, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) denied rate increases for other home operators and dropped more than a dozen providers. DCS has since stated that the rate increase occurred because Sunshine Residential Homes threatened to prioritize intake of migrant children over Arizona’s foster children.
Mayes began her investigation more than two years ago, in the summer of 2024, after others began investigating following reporting by the Arizona Republic that broke the pay-to-play scandal.
Certain officials had begun to investigate the allegations, but Mayes stepped in to stop them. Mayes sent letters to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and Auditor General Lindsey Perry, ordering both officials to stop seeking answers.
“It would not be appropriate or in the best interest of the state to conduct parallel investigations into the same matter,” said Mayes in the letter to Mitchell. “[A] separate process conducted by the MCAO could jeopardize the integrity of the criminal investigation that my office will now proceed with.”
Mitchell’s response urged Mayes to reconsider her position on being the sole investigator into the allegations.
“I want to be clear: This is not an accusation against you or the many fine employees in your office,” said Mitchell. “We are in a time when people are increasingly distrustful of government. Your insistence on being the sole investigator in this matter will greatly contribute to people’s […] belief that nothing can change.”
Leadership within the Republican-led legislature announced their own investigatory efforts earlier this year. The House advisory team obtained outside counsel to investigate the alleged pay-to-play scandal. No findings have been made public as a result of that effort to date.
Earlier this summer, the governor vetoed legislation establishing financial transparency requirements tied to the alleged pay-to-play scandal.
Hobbs has denied any wrongdoing throughout the years-long investigation.
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City of Phoenix leaders are looking for a funding pathway to cover the millions it will cost to continue to provide legal and other services to evictees.
The city launched a pilot Eviction Legal Services (ELS) program in January 2025 using $1.2 million out of the interest accrued from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Phoenix received nearly $400 million in ARPA funds as part of an economic stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ELS program is scheduled to continue through June 2027.
City leaders and staff discussed the proposal to continue the ELS program, or another iteration of evictee services, during the most recent Community Services and Education Subcommittee meeting last month.
According to city staff, the ELS program handled 766 applications from January 2025 through March 2026. 436 of those applications were eligible for referral to an ELS provider. 292 eligible referrals, or 67%, were for legal representation to respond to an eviction filing.
330 applications were considered ineligible: 260 failed to provide complete documentation and 70 were either not city residents or their cases were not eviction-related.
Staff further reported that 25% of all closed cases ended with a negotiated settlement or agreement in which the landlord and tenant agreed with the outcome jointly. 140 cases with legal representation, or 48%, were classified as having reduced negative impacts of eviction on tenants. Examples of reduced negative impacts were evictees receiving 42 additional days to move out and paying $2,600 less on average for back rent.
City of Phoenix leaders are familiar with repurposing COVID-19 relief funds for housing assistance. Jacqueline Edwards, director of the Human Service Department (HSD), came on the job two years ago having successfully distributed $200 million in COVID-19 relief funds for rental assistance while with the Maricopa County Human Services Department. Edwards joined the city of Phoenix as its HSD director in 2024.
The COVID-19 relief windfall is coming to an end, however. During the Community Services and Education Subcommittee meeting last month, Edwards disclosed that the city doesn’t have a dedicated funding source for continuation of ELS or a similar program.
Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington said subsidized housing was one of her key priorities, and urged Edwards to find funding for ELS.
Edwards made that nonfunding disclosure as she proposed three new programs for additional eviction prevention and response:
Preferred Landlord program: the city would create a “verified landlord” list of city-recognized landlords committed to city-funded mediations rather than evictions.
“Tenants would know up front that these landlords would seek mediation activities rather than simply filing an eviction,” said Edwards.
Landlord Risk Mitigation Fund program: the city would assist households with a history of evictions by providing financial incentives for landlords to accept these higher-risk tenants, such as deposit assistance.
One-Stop Stabilization Appointment program: the city would meet with evictees within three days of their eviction to enroll them in public benefits and resources.
Washington said she approved of all three programs.
“It is less costly and more effective to prevent homelessness than it is to respond to someone who’s already lost their housing,” said Washington.
Beyond legal services for evictees, the city also began distributing $3 million for emergency financial assistance last month.
The new Stability Assistance program gives “vulnerable Phoenix residents” up to $2,500. Noncitizens qualify since they have residency, as well as those who reside in a qualified census tract; have incomes no greater than 200% of the federal poverty line; or receive or have received funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or Medicaid.
The funds may be used for “utilities, rent, transportation, or other basic expenses [for] other household needs” according to city meeting records, though Edwards revealed that staff don’t have strict requirements for how recipients may spend their thousands. Edwards said funds could be used to pay for other things, like continuing education or work credentials.
“[It’s] not for staff to say, ‘These are the steps that you have to do, but rather let that [decision making] be driven [by fund recipients] because households really do know what’s best for them and we’re there to walk right next to them and help them achieve those goals,” said Edwards.
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