El Paso County Sues ICE After Feds Stonewall Public Records Requests on Massive Detention Center

El Paso County officials have had enough of being kept in the dark about a massive immigration detention center planned for their community. On Monday, the County Commissioners Court voted to file a federal lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for violating the Freedom of Information Act.

The legal action comes after ICE and the Department of Homeland Security ignored multiple requests for basic information about a planned 8,500-bed detention facility in Socorro, Texas. County Attorney Christina Sanchez is demanding documents that should be routine public records: site maps, permitting requirements, environmental assessments, and records of any public notice or comment periods.

"Time and again, our community has been left in the dark about federal detention operations happening right here in El Paso County," said Commissioner Iliana Holguin, who represents the area where the facility would be built. "When transparency is denied, accountability must be demanded."

The detention center would be housed in three warehouses purchased by DHS from El Paso Logistics 2 LLC on January 27 for $123 million. If completed, it would give El Paso County roughly 13,500 detention beds -- making it one of the largest immigration detention hubs in the country. The controversial Camp East Montana facility in East El Paso already holds up to 5,000 people, making it the largest immigration detention center in the United States.

County officials are particularly concerned about the strain such a facility would place on local resources. "Given the vast scale of this facility, it could place enormous demands on natural resources, emergency services, public health systems and local infrastructure," Sanchez said. Her office is also investigating whether ICE conducted any environmental assessment before moving forward with the project.

The commissioners directed Sanchez to produce a report on what is known about the planned detention centers in February, following a resolution adopted by the court on February 3. That resolution came after more than 200 El Paso residents packed a commissioners court meeting on January 26 to voice their opposition to the Socorro facility during public comment.

The Freedom of Information Act request was filed as part of that investigative effort. To date, the federal government has provided zero response.

While DHS paused purchasing additional warehouse properties for detention centers, plans for the Socorro facility are moving forward. The agency has not provided any timeline for when the warehouses will be converted or when the facility might open.

The county's lawsuit will be filed in the Western District of Texas. It represents a rare instance of local government taking the federal immigration enforcement apparatus to court -- not over policy, but over the basic principle that the public has a right to know what is being built in their community.

For El Paso residents, the stakes are clear. They are watching their county transform into a detention empire, with federal agencies purchasing property, constructing facilities, and planning operations that will fundamentally reshape their community -- all while refusing to answer the most basic questions about what they are doing.