By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | AZ Mirror
Someone tried to burn down a Surprise 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.
