A new ICE detention center in Marana raises fears among residents: ‘People shouldn’t have to live like this.’

MARANA – An abandoned, run-down prison just outside of Tucson has sat untouched for years. Now, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to fill the former Marana prison with a new kind of inmate: immigrants in the country illegally.

“We’ve already had these huge tanks and raids here in Tucson. We don’t want that to grow, and we also don’t want to provide hospitality for an increase of that,” said Mary Romer, a Pima County resident.

Romer was one of the first members of Pima Resists ICE, or PRICE, a grassroots organization that is opposed to the detention center in Marana.

“I think it’s going to harm children,” said Romer. “It’s going to create such a fear that they won’t be able to attend school freely, or they’ll be worried about their parents or families.”

Mary Romer and her dog, Hope, at her home in Tucson, Ariz. on Feb. 27, 2026.(Abby Jurek/Cronkite News)

Her neighbors have shared their own fears with her since learning the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to convert the prison.

Not everyone in town agrees with Romer and other critics of the project. Some members of the community have been outspoken in their support of ICE.

“Marana residents are thrilled more jobs are coming to the area and support locking up criminal a**holes rather than having them walk amongst us within our community,” said one resident in a community Facebook thread.

Others shared their support too.

Town Manager Terry Rozema promised the community that no matter their view on the detention center, the town will “try and maintain order and unity.”

DETENTION CENTER EXPANSION GROWS NATION WIDE

In late February, DHS published its intent to enter a contract for the rural Arizona facility. The memo said it would house more than 700 people and provide guards, meals, medical care and transportation services.

Outside of the prison yard at Marana Community Correctional Treatment Facility on Feb. 27, 2026 in Marana, Ariz. (Abby Jurek/Cronkite News)

The announcement comes as ICE plans to drastically increase immigrants in detention around the country.

“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE now has historic funding to secure enough detention capacity to maintain an average daily population of 100,000 illegal aliens and 80,000 new ICE beds,” Fernando X. Burgos, Public Affairs Officer for ICE’s Southwest Region wrote in an email.

That could mean doubling the detainee population since last summer.

In June 2025, ICE detained more about 50,000 people on average each day, according to Syracuse University research.

“As we arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens and public safety threats from the U.S., ICE has worked diligently to obtain greater necessary detention space while avoiding overcrowding,” Burgos wrote.

WHAT COMES NEXT 

Town manager Rozema said the plan has not solidified into a signed contract, but ICE had been discussing the possibility of a detention center for nearly a year.

“They came to us close to a year ago now, probably April of last year, letting us know they were in conversations with the state about purchasing the facility,” Rozema said.

Rozema confirmed that ICE intends to contract with Management and Training Corporation, a private prison company that previously contracted with the state.

“MTC operated the Marana facility for nearly 30 years on behalf of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry,” Emily Lawhead, Management and Training Corporation’s Director of Communications wrote in an email.

“The facility was built for secure operations and remains well suited for that intended use,” Lawhead added.

Opponents have raised concerns about the corporation’s controversial history and allegations of  humanitarian issues in other facilities they manage. Rozema disagreed with that characterization and said ICE is an incredible partner.

“Whatever ends up happening, we are going to do everything that we can to make sure that regardless of who you are in the community, whether you live in a mansion on Dove Mountain or you live in a cardboard box in the middle of the Santa Cruz River, or you’re held in a detention facility in our community, you’re treated with dignity and respect.” Rozema said.