By Brandon Pho, San José Spotlight
Additional reporting by George B. Sánchez-Tello and Voices of Monterey Bay
This story was originally produced by San José Spotlight.
On Wednesday, California Attorney General Bonta and Santa Clara County filed suit against the Trump administration aiming to block the “illegal development” of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Gilroy.
“President Trump’s mass detention and deportation campaign has led to cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable conditions at immigration holding and detention facilities across California. But instead of working to improve conditions at these facilities — instead of enforcing ICE’s own detention standards — the Trump Administration is trying to jam through a new facility on a community that doesn’t want it,” Bonta said. “Under this Administration, we’ve seen ICE offices have become mini-detention centers, despite being unequipped for long-term holding. That’s unacceptable. So is the secrecy surrounding the details of this project. But one thing is clear: ICE’s plans to construct a facility near Gilroy violates multiple federal laws. We’re suing to stop this project and protect the interests of California communities.”
Detailed blueprints of the project show an ICE office with detention and processing space is planned in South Santa Clara County.
The 111-page document obtained by San José Spotlight, dated Sept. 17, 2025, illustrates a future U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility with detention areas, detainee processing areas, interview and holding rooms, spaces for mothers with infants, visitation rooms, weapons and ammunition rooms, tactical equipment storage, offices and a fitness center planned at 7240 Holsclaw Road. Certain pages of the document bear the logos for ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The planned facility is located in an unincorporated area right outside Gilroy.
San José Spotlight obtained the blueprints after first reporting on public records that gave an incomplete picture of what was being built. The records originally suggested there would be a 4,000-square-foot detention center with office space. The total square footage of the project is roughly 20,000 square feet, with construction already underway and workers spotted on-site with fencing around the property.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors submitted a formal letter to the federal government opposing the proposed immigrant detention center on June 2. The letter followed a unanimous vote at their May 19 meeting opposing the facility and supporting efforts by Santa Clara County officials to halt the planning and construction of the facility.
The site is less than 20 miles from Aromas, the unincorporated community at the northern tip of Monterey County.
“We want our county of Monterey to take a clear and unequivocal position in opposition to the proposed ICE detention center in Gilroy,” said Supervisor Luis Alejo, who introduced the item along with Supervisor Chris Lopez, during the May 19 meeting.
“Let’s be honest about the purpose and effect of these facilities: They are designed to detain, intimidate and send a chilling message to immigrant communities,” Alejo said, reading from a statement.
“They create trauma for children and families. They discourage people from reporting crimes, seeking healthcare or even taking their children to school. They undermine trust between communities and local government. They spread fear not only among undocumented residents but among entire neighborhoods.”
Following the introduction of the motion to oppose the detention facility, 18 people spoke in support, including the president of the Salinas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the president of the Salinas Monterey County Homeless Union and an attorney from the California Immigration Project.
Residents urged the board — and their neighbors — to contact U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Jimmy Panetta.
Supervisors also unanimously agreed to direct county attorneys and the Housing and Community Development Department to review zoning and land use laws to see what county officials can do to prohibit immigration detention centers from being located within Monterey County.
Santa Clara County said the project is being built in an area not zoned for such a facility and without any notification or procedures in accordance with local laws.
“We oppose any effort to build an immigration detention facility anywhere in our county or across the Bay Area,” County Counsel Tony LoPresti told San José Spotlight. “Our County Counsel’s Office has a long track record of protecting our immigrant community against unlawful attacks by the federal government. Our office has been evaluating this project closely since activity began on the site in recent weeks. We are in touch with the Attorney General’s Office and are reviewing legal options. We will seek to prevent any effort to disregard or flout any applicable law to build a detention facility.”
Community organizers said they’ve been monitoring the site for months. They’ve also been holding meetings on how to oppose the facility and protect their undocumented neighbors.
“We oppose any expansion of ICE regardless of what it is,” Rebeca Armendariz — a former Gilroy councilmember and organizer with Bay Resistance, the ICE OUT Coalition and Community Agency for Resources, Advocacy and Services — told San José Spotlight. “Hundreds of community members, from the Central Coast to the Bay, have already been activated and we are going to mobilize. If ICE is listening — get out.”
ICE previously denied plans for a facility at the location. After San José Spotlight asked about the project blueprints, the agency described the project as an “ICE office” and denied it being a detention facility.
“The new Gilroy office will enable ICE to support local operations and enhance coordination with regional partners to ensure the enforcement of federal immigration laws at the operating standards of other offices nationwide,” an ICE spokesperson told San José Spotlight.
Research has shown that communities near ICE facilities see upticks in enforcement activity, higher rates of arrests, and a chilling effect on the public life of immigrant families and mixed-status households.
When reached for comment, a DHS spokesperson repeated a prior statement circulated to media.
“As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals,” the spokesperson told San José Spotlight. “As Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin said in his confirmation hearing: ‘I will work with the community leaders and make sure that we are delivering for the American people what the president set out … We want to work with community leaders. We want to be good partners.’”
Representatives for Long Beach-based Environ Architecture, a firm identified in the blueprints, did not respond to requests for comment.
A DHS representative previously declined to confirm the plans, but generally said it will be expanding detention space nationwide.
The revelation of the facility has sent shockwaves through neighboring regions. Most recently, the Gilroy City Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the facility at its Monday meeting.
Federal procurement records show a contract for the facility was awarded Jan. 8, 2025 to an LLC with the same mailing address as Elmwood Capital Group, a Beverly Hills-based real estate firm tied to another immigration facility proposal in Texas. The notice identified Holsclaw Road as the Santa Clara County facility’s location. County property records show Elmwood Capital Group assumed ownership of the Holsclaw Road address last year, just weeks after the federal contract award. The company website lists the Holsclaw Road location — incorrectly labeled as San Jose — in its portfolio of projects.
Research has shown that communities near ICE facilities see upticks in enforcement activity and higher rates of arrests. Research also shows it creates a chilling effect on the public life of undocumented people — be it reduced school attendance or missed medical appointments for immigrant families and mixed-status households.
“Santa Clara County will vigorously fight in court any proposal to build the machinery of mass deportation in our community,” District 1 Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, who represents the area where the project is planned, told San José Spotlight.
Advocates have raised similar alarms in Dublin, where federal officials are preparing to transfer ownership of a former East Bay prison. The move raises concerns that Dublin might also be the site of a facility for federal immigration enforcement.
Santa Clara County has historically been a leader on local jurisdictions’ resistance to federal immigration crackdowns. The county led a coalition, which included 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 ICE operations and ban immigration authorities from using county property for enforcement activity.
“Any type of ICE facility — whether it be a processing center or a large-scale warehouse-style detention center — in Santa Clara County endangers our neighbors and threatens our shared values of welcoming and belonging,” District 2 Supervisor Betty Duong told San José Spotlight. “We oppose all efforts to fast-track this administration’s deportation machine, and we will fight together with and for our community to protect the well-being of all those who call the Bay Area home.”
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