California sues – California and Santa Clara County sued the Trump administration in federal court to stop a planned immigration facility near Gilroy, arguing the leased land is zoned for agriculture and that federal officials skipped required state and local notification and p
A construction site just outside Gilroy has become a flashpoint in a legal fight over immigration enforcement.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County officials announced a new lawsuit meant to block a planned immigration facility near Gilroy. filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San José. The complaint targets the federal government’s decision to lease land outside the city and move ahead with what local officials say could be used for short-term detention.
Bonta described the project during a news conference in San José. saying the administration is trying to push the facility through “on a community that does not want it. ” while “bulldozing over laws” and “shrouding their plans in secrecy.” He said the case marks the 71st lawsuit his office has filed against the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The state and county are challenging the project on several fronts. The lawsuit says the leased land is zoned exclusively for agricultural use. It also alleges the federal government violated laws that require state and county notification. along with procedural steps that must be completed before construction can begin.
Officials from the state side say the community’s worries aren’t abstract. The agency’s account to the San José Spotlight is that the project would be an ICE office. not a detention center. But Bonta and county leaders contend the planned facility will likely be used for short-term detention of up to 150 people at a time.
The disagreement is now playing out in the details of where the facility is meant to go and what surrounds it.
Santa Clara County officials said they were not told last year when the federal government leased nearly 25 acres of unincorporated land just outside Gilroy to build a facility for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The lawsuit says the parcel includes three buildings, greenhouses, and a large agricultural field.
Community members alerted the county earlier this year and protested the plan. The lawsuit says construction began early last month.
The property sits three miles southeast of the Gilroy Premium Outlets at 7240 Holsclaw Road, according to federal procurement records. The Department of Homeland Security secured a 20-year lease worth $26.5 million from a subsidiary of the Beverly Hills-based Elmwood Capital Group. an Elmwood Capital Group real estate investment firm.
The lawsuit also raises environmental and health concerns tied to the site’s history and infrastructure. It argues that the property is in an area known to support several endangered and threatened species. and says a facility there would strain limited waste disposal and drinking water infrastructure.
It further claims that agricultural research companies that previously occupied the property generated hazardous waste that was not properly disposed of.
“The federal government’s apparent failure to address — much less mitigate — these risks endanger the construction workers building the site, detainees and employees who will be located at the site, and the environment beneath and surrounding the site,” the lawsuit states.
County officials also say the federal government’s communication was too limited. The complaint describes the only formal message to the county about the project as a one-paragraph letter dated June 21, 2023, forwarded by an Elmwood Capital representative.
That letter said the federal government planned “office and operations space” at the site and argued it should be exempt from local zoning and planning review.
Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said the dispute is about transparency and process, not just location. “Part of the problem here is that they are trying to move forward with this project with as little transparency as possible. and hoping that nobody notices. nobody catches on to the details. ” he said. “So, part of what our lawsuit will do is it will force that transparency to occur.”.
ICE has processing facilities nearby, including a processing facility in Morgan Hill. The litigation also arrives in a broader moment when ICE holding facilities have faced multiple lawsuits since the start of the Trump administration. with claims involving alleged overcrowding. poor conditions. and confinement lasting for days and weeks.
Bonta and LoPresti said building an ICE facility in Gilroy signals an intention by the federal government to increase enforcement in the area. That concern has echoed beyond the South Bay. Advocates and local leaders have raised similar issues in Dublin. another Bay Area city where federal officials are working to transfer ownership of a former prison.
Congressional Democrats sent a letter earlier this month opposing the possibility that the former prison could reopen as an immigrant detention facility.
California sues Rob Bonta Santa Clara County ICE facility Gilroy Homeland Security U.S. District Court San José immigration enforcement