Santa Clara County officials, community organizers and residents gathered at the county government center in San Jose May 14 to oppose a federal plan to build an immigration detention facility on agricultural land just outside Gilroy city limits, vowing to fight the project in court and in the streets.
The rally came days after public records surfaced showing the General Services Administration awarded a $26.5 million contract in January 2025 to an LLC connected to Elmwood Capital Group, a Beverly Hills-based real estate firm connected to other ICE detention centers, for a property at 7240 Holsclaw Road.
The unincorporated parcel is roughly 11 miles south of an existing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Morgan Hill. County officials said they were not notified of the federal government’s intention to build the facility.
Santa Clara County Executive James Williams said the county’s zoning ordinance does not permit detention facilities on the property and that his office intends to enforce that.
“We oppose any effort to build an immigration detention center anywhere in our county or across the Bay Area,” Williams said. “Our County Counsel’s Office has a long track record of protecting our immigrant community against unlawful attacks by the federal government, and we know it will do everything in its power to do so in this case as well.”
County Counsel Tony LoPresti said his office has successfully litigated against federal immigration policy in multiple past cases, including challenging attempts to strip funding from sanctuary jurisdictions, defending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and opposing a citizenship question in the U.S. Census.
“For 15 years, we have collaborated with community organizations to develop the strongest non-cooperation—so-called ‘sanctuary’—policies in the nation,” LoPresti said. “Why do we go to battle on these issues? Because immigrants are the bedrock of our community. Because an attack on the immigrant community is an attack on Santa Clara County.”
District 1 Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, who represents Gilroy, Morgan Hill and South San Jose, said the proposed facility represents an escalation of what she characterized as a federal campaign targeting immigrant families.
“An attack on immigrants is an attack on all families,” Arenas said. “While they are trying to build in my district, the entire county will stand in opposition. We will fight any detention facility with every possible tool at our disposal, and we are absolutely ready to send our County Counsel to battle this out in court.”
Gilroy City Council Member Zach Hilton issued a formal statement opposing the project.
“The county’s zoning ordinance doesn’t allow this use,” Hilton said, “I have full confidence that they will not allow this project to move forward.”
Community organizer Rebeca Armendariz, a former Gilroy City Council member, said construction workers were on the property this week installing privacy fencing and demolishing existing greenhouses.
“If their plans are to build an ICE facility there, our plans are to stop them,” Armendariz said.
Architect Reid Lerner, a longtime Gilroy resident familiar with the property, raised separate practical objections. The Holsclaw Road parcel sits in a flood zone, he said, making construction both costly and complicated. The site lacks connections to municipal sewer and water infrastructure, and the access road is narrow and winding, running alongside Llagas Creek.
“I don’t think it’s a good choice for building such a facility from a technical standpoint,” Lerner said.
Lerner also recalled this is not Elmwood Capital Group’s first attempt to acquire a Gilroy property. During the first Trump administration, the firm sought to purchase another plot for GSA purposes, but the owner declined to sell.
Gilroy Mayor Greg Bozzo, writing on Facebook, called the development a “disappointment,” though he noted the site falls outside city jurisdiction. He reinforced that the Gilroy Police Department has not and will not participate in federal immigration enforcement operations.
“In these difficult and uncertain times, I will do everything I can as Mayor of Gilroy to alleviate the fear and anxiety felt by so many,” Bozzo wrote. “It is promising to know that so many people in South Santa Clara County care about each other. If any community can get through these times together, it’s ours.”
Lots of people here in South County support the deportation of illegal aliens. They are a net drain on the welfare system, many are criminals with violent records, and they displace job opportunities for Americans, lowering wages. It is past time for this to end. I will be voting against all of these politicians.
I don’t want my tax dollars paying for detention concentration camps. Thank you to the politicians. You have my support!
I’ve read that only a small percentage of illegal aliens who were deported had a “violent criminal history”. “The worst go first” apparently isn’t ringing true. I wonder if this wouldn’t change if ICE actually had the cooperation of local governments? They asked for this help by being allowed into the county jails where the violent element were located. This was denied by the political sanctuary laws. We complain and protest when they are in the neighborhoods…why then, didn’t we give them what both sides wanted?
Where were these politicians and officials when the Amazon data center was being proposed? The threat to our water supply is real and is the life blood of our community.
Those here illegally should be strongly encouraged to return their homelands, apply for citizenship and return when approved. ICE is merely trying to enforce our laws just as other countries enforce their laws dealing with illegal aliens. We need to return to the old seasonal migrant system where migrants return to their homes and families outside the US. We need to focus tax dollars on citizen needs first.
Checkout Homeland Security website for the worst that have been and still are being deported that Democrat owned mainstream media will never report or take out of context. Many illegal immigrants deported have been here for years without any infractions because their MO is Don’t Get Caught! while they financially “game the system” with the support of Sanctuary State policies and Officials pushing-out American labor workers and monopolized affordable housing contributing to the homeless crisis. Under Biden’s 4 years in Office he let in over 20 million unvetted illegal immigrants and criminals and the endless lawlessness across the country and death’s of Americans. This is EXACTLY what We The People voted for, thank you ICE for protecting our communities and our Republic. 🇺🇲
Those here illegally should be strongly encouraged to return their homelands, apply for citizenship and return only when approved. ICE is merely trying to enforce our laws just as other countries enforce their laws dealing with those who enter illegally. The officials are twisting it to make it appear ICE is breaking the law. We need to return to the old seasonal migrant system where migrants return to their homes and families outside the US. We need to focus tax dollars on citizen needs first.