A federal procurement order would expand the planned capacity of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Marana, Arizona, aiming to increase the facility’s capacity beyond what state documents describe for the former prison building. The order asks that the site be prepared to hold 775 detainees, despite state materials putting the capacity at 513 people.
The federal document—released as a procurement memo—also identifies the operator it expects to run the facility. It names Management & Training Corporation, or MTC, and describes the company as the sole owner and operator of the Marana detention facility that meets ICE requirements within the stated timeframe, the Associated Press reported March 13.
The procurement memo was shared Feb. 25 and describes an arrangement that would last two years, according to the reporting. While no final agreement had been made as of the story’s publication date, the order provides the federal benchmark capacity and points to the operator expected to manage the facility.
Immigration attorney Daniela Ugaz, who heads the legal research team for Pima Resists I.C.E., said the requested population increase is not something she believes can be done “in an ethical way.” Ugaz, speaking to the story’s partner outlet Arizona Luminaria through the AP distribution, also said she has seen abuse, “devastation,” and medical neglect—including outcomes leading to death—rise when the population surges in detention centers.
MTC, which bought the Marana property from the state in 2025, said it has a community partnership track record and emphasized operational standards if an agreement is finalized. In a statement to Arizona Luminaria, MTC said, “If an agreement is finalized, our focus will remain on restoring good local jobs, supporting the Marana economy, and operating the facility with high standards of safety, professionalism, and dignity.”
The procurement notice itself links the capacity request to enforcement goals, stating that DHS/ICE needs to increase bed capacity to meet “the administration’s interior enforcement and border decompression goals,” according to the reporting. The story also said immigration detention nationwide had its highest number of deaths in custody in Fiscal Year 2025 than any year since 2004.
Advocates and civil-liberties organizations have raised concerns about what an expansion could mean for people held in detention. The ACLU writes that, “Despite the explosive growth in immigration detention in recent years, there are no regulations or enforceable standards regarding detention conditions, including medical treatment, mental health care, religious services, transfers, and access to telephones, free legal services, and library materials,” the story reported.
In Marana, officials said local approvals were not required for the sale because the state owned the facility and it was already zoned for a prison. Town communications manager Vic Hathaway said the town is not a party to the federal and MTC agreement but that it had a longstanding working relationship with the company when MTC previously operated a detention facility at the location, and that MTC had been open to meeting with town and residents should the agreement move forward, with details still not finalized.
The order arrives after Congress approved $45 billion for immigration detention this summer, according to the reporting, as federal officials move to increase detention capacity in response to enforcement priorities described in the procurement notice.