Santa Clara County officials denounce proposed detention center

Community leaders rallied at the seat of Santa Clara County government Thursday with a flurry of signs and one promise: No federal detention center will be built near Gilroy without a fight.

It comes after San José Spotlight first reported on public records indicating a real estate firm in Beverly Hills — which has been tied to another proposed detention center in Texas — has won a contract to build a detention center and office space at 7240 Holsclaw Road. U.S. Department of Homeland Security representatives previously declined to confirm or deny the plans, but told this news outlet they are broadly planning to expand detention space for immigration enforcement.

Immigration advocates and county leaders indicated they were aware of plans for the detention center before this news outlet reported on it. They warned the plans come amid similar alarms in Dublin, where federal officials are preparing to transfer ownership of a former East Bay prison, raising concerns that city might also be the site of a federal detention center.

The news conference saw a large crowd of people who waved signs condemning the plans and immigration enforcement authorities in general. The crowd included organizers with the Immigrant Protection & Empowerment Network, Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN), Amigos de Guadalupe and others. Members of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s office also attended, as well as his wife, Sylvia Scandar Mahan. Mahan was not present.

Santa Clara County leaders said they’ve been contacted by California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office.

“Although he couldn’t be here today, his office has reached out and expressed their support and are actively coordinating with us on this case,” County Counsel Tony LoPresti said at the news conference.

LoPresti vowed to fight the detention center with the full resources of his office, as the county property is not zoned for a detention center — but warned the federal government could try to establish precedence of federal laws over local ones. Still, he pointed to the county’s past lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration.

The county led a coalition of local jurisdictions, including San Francisco, suing to stop attempts to cut funding to cities and counties who declare themselves sanctuaries for people without citizenship. The county has also taken steps to coordinate real-time responses to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and ban immigration authorities from using county property for enforcement activity.

“We have been successful and effective at virtually every single turn,” LoPresti said. “Yes, we talk a big talk — but we have walked the walk. And you better believe we’re going to keep walking.”

District 1 Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, who represents South County where the detention center is planned, said she expects the Trump administration to undermine the legal process. But she’s undeterred.

“We shall see what ends up happening, but we won’t regret any effort we’ve taken to fight this,” Arenas told San José Spotlight.

A confluence of Latino community organizers, South County business owners and San Jose officials emphasized that while records point to a detention center, it’s unclear what exactly will be built along Holsclaw Road.

“While we do not yet have definitive information about the future of this site, we know enough to understand what is at stake,” San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz said at the news conference. “We have already seen the harm that aggressive immigration enforcement and detention policies have caused. We have seen families destabilized. We have seen communities pushed into fear and isolation. We have seen parents afraid to take their children to school.”

Maritza Maldonado, founder and executive director of Amigos de Guadalupe, vowed to block ICE’s potential expansion.

“We, together, are ready,” Maldonado said at the news conference. “We will organize, we will protect, we will advocate and we will litigate.”

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.