Mesa can't enforce its own fire codes at an ICE facility where detainees can't even sit down

ICE facility overcrowding sparks alarm in Mesa

Severe overcrowding at a Mesa ICE facility has raised safety concerns and highlighted limits on local oversight, as officials and lawmakers question conditions and federal accountability.

Mesa can't enforce its own fire codes at an ICE facility where detainees can't even sit down

An Eastern Airlines Boeing 777 can hold up to 305 people departed Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport after loading ICE detainees who were being held at the Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center on April 27, 2026. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror)In late January, the Mesa Fire and Medical Department responded to a medical call at a lesser known U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, where it found such severe overcrowd…

Mesa can’t enforce its own fire codes at ICE facility where detainees can’t even sit down - Click pic for more:

The City of Mesa told the Mirror it is aware of “concerns about overcrowding” at the facility and said that, while the fire department is responding to calls for service and providing “life safety guidance” to ICE personnel at the facility, there isn’t much the city can do to enforce local rules.