Steve Cortes, founder of the League of American Workers, said Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is framing a proposed ICE processing facility in Surprise as a nuisance, a move he says could obstruct federal immigration operations.
“Kris Mayes wants to call a federal detention center a ‘public nuisance’, because in her world, enforcing the law is OFFENSIVE, but open-border chaos is ‘compassion.’ That’s not justice. That’s ideological sabotage dressed up in legalese,” said Cortes. “Mayes can’t win the border debate, so she tries to rebrand it. This lawsuit threat is just her weapon to block law enforcement and appease the loudest activists. Calling ICE ‘a nuisance’ in Arizona is like calling a fire station ‘a nuisance’ during wildfire season. The nuisance is the chaos Mayes’ allies normalized (lawbreaking, trafficking, fentanyl) and then they lecture YOU about community harm.”
The debate centers on Mayes’ consideration of legal action to halt the construction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention site in Surprise, Arizona. The proposed facility would be an approximately 418,000-square-foot Department of Homeland Security warehouse with capacity for about 1,500 detainees. According to KJZZ, Mayes’ office cites concerns over proximity to homes and a nearby high school and asserts state authority to compel abatement under public nuisance laws.
Arizona has seen heightened activity at its southern border. As reported by Fox 10 Phoenix, the Tucson Sector recorded 463,567 illegal crossing attempts from October 2023 through September 2024—the highest among all southern border sectors—highlighting Arizona’s frontline role in managing unlawful crossings and underscoring demand for federal detention infrastructure.
Federal agencies have also reported significant drug interdictions at Arizona ports of entry. CBP reports that during “Operation Apollo” at Nogales in April 2024, officers seized more than 400 pounds of illicit drugs over one weekend—including substantial amounts of fentanyl—demonstrating ongoing cartel trafficking through Arizona and emphasizing the need for robust enforcement and processing capacity.
Cortes founded the League of American Workers (LAW), described as a conservative policy group focused on national sovereignty and working-class interests. According to LAW, it conducts research and develops proposals on policies affecting American workers and the economy.
