On June 10, 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti filed a lawsuit seeking to block the illegal development of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in unincorporated Santa Clara County near Gilroy, California. In January 2025, a private developer leased the property to the federal government for use by ICE — likely as an Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office. ERO offices are only designed for administrative use and short-term detainment, but during the Trump Administration investigative reports have revealed frequent overcrowding, long-term confinement, and inhumane conditions in numerous locations.    

Since leasing the property near Gilroy, the federal government has proceeded with a plan to quickly and surreptitiously develop a facility. In doing so, the federal government has ignored important environmental concerns and federal laws. The construction of the facility threatens to permanently destroy the ecosystem, habitat, and agricultural value of land that the County, and the State have protected for exclusive agricultural use since at least the 1960s. The project could also have severe impacts on vital infrastructure, straining waste and drinking water infrastructure and leading to the deterioration of critical roadways.    

Attorney General Bonta and County Counsel LoPresti ask the court to permanently enjoin construction of this facility, claiming that it violates the National Environmental Policy Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and California’s Williamson Act. 

On July 13, 2026, the federal government agreed to temporarily pause construction and development of the facility.  

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. Attorney General Rob Bonta