Update — June 2, 2026

• ICE explicitly denies plans (escalated denial). Asked about the site, ICE told the Press Democrat it “currently has no plans for a detention center in Gilroy,” adding that “ICE facilities are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, including zoning regulations.” This is a sharper denial than DHS’s earlier non-committal “no new detention centers to announce” — even as construction continues at the parcel.
• Construction continues; still no lawsuit filed. Work at the ~25-acre site began in early May and is ongoing. As of June 2, Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said his office is “feverishly” exploring legal options and promised concrete steps “soon,” but no lawsuit has been filed by Santa Clara County, Monterey County, or AG Bonta. The litigation remains threatened, not initiated.
• Source: Press Democrat — Can local or state government stop an ICE detention center near Gilroy? (June 1, 2026, updated June 2)

Overview

A federal immigration detention facility under construction on a ~24.5-acre parcel at 7240 Holsclaw Road, unincorporated Santa Clara County, immediately east of Highway 101 and the Gilroy city limits. The site sits ~11 miles south of the ICE field office in Morgan Hill and ~8 miles from the Monterey County line. The project was leased in January 2025 but kept out of public view until April 2026, when residents spotted activity; greenhouse demolition and privacy fencing began in early May 2026.

Key Details

• GSA lease: $26.5 million over 20 years; awarded January 8, 2025, bearing the same solicitation ID as a 2020 GSA solicitation that sought Santa Clara County land for a detention center
• Footprint: ~18,700–20,000 sq ft project; earlier reporting described a building “as large as 4,000 sq ft with a sally port” — consistent with a holding/processing center rather than a large bed facility
• Landlord: ECG 6 LLC, a Beverly Hills entity sharing an address with Elmwood Capital Group, a real-estate firm (founded 2020) that acquires industrial facilities and procures GSA leases; tied to a separate immigration-detention proposal in Texas. Elmwood/ECG took title to the parcel weeks after the contract award.
• Intended occupant: ICE. DHS declined to confirm — “We have no new detention centers to announce at this time… ICE is actively working to expand detention space.”
• Zoning: Santa Clara County zoning ordinances prohibit detention/incarceration facilities on the site.

Procurement Pattern

This facility is a clean example of the GSA real-estate-intermediary model for ICE expansion: rather than ICE contracting a prison operator directly or a locality approving a land-use permit, a private real-estate LLC (ECG 6 / Elmwood Capital Group) acquires the land and signs a long-term GSA lease, with ICE as the end occupant. The structure (a) keeps the project off local land-use agendas, (b) leaves no public notice for 16+ months, and (c) reportedly recurs in Texas under the same firm — making Elmwood/ECG a procurement node worth national tracking.

Opposition

See county-fight entry monterey-county-ca-gilroy-detention-opposition. Santa Clara County (Supervisors Sylvia Arenas, Susan Ellenberg; County Executive James Williams) and Monterey County (unanimous May 19, 2026 resolution) oppose; CA AG Bonta “actively coordinating” on litigation; Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas issued a “Not Here. Not Ever.” statement (May 15, 2026); SIREN organizing community resistance.

Sources

• Press Democrat — Can local or state government stop an ICE detention center near Gilroy? (June 1, 2026)
• San José Spotlight — Federal detention center planned in South County (May 2026)
• KQED — Santa Clara County Leaders Say They’ll Fight Planned ICE Facility in Gilroy (May 2026)
• Hanford Sentinel — Work begins on planned ICE detention facility near Gilroy as Santa Clara County threatens lawsuit (May 2026)
• Local News Matters — Too close for comfort: Monterey County joins push to halt suspected ICE center near Gilroy (May 21, 2026)