On June 29th, former student council members and I met with Senator Ruben Gallego, his team, and Senator Mark Kelly's team outside the proposed ICE detention center here in Surprise.
Senator Gallego was genuinely concerned and asked thoughtful questions. He wanted to know how the detention center would affect our schools, our neighborhoods, and our first responders. We're very grateful and appreciative that he took the time to understand what students will be facing if this opens.
He also brought up the Respect for Local Communities Act, currently circulating through Congress, which would give communities more of a voice in decisions about proposed ICE detention centers. I told him that my main concern with this act is that it doesn't address detention centers being within the walking zone of students. He said that the language and ideas from my 3-mile buffer zone proposal has been discussed in Congress and that those discussions are still continuing.
Thank you to Senator Gallego, his team, and Senator Kelly's team for making this meeting possible.
The detention center may be on hold, but our fight isn't. A pause is not a victory. And the silence from our leaders remains unacceptable. To this day, no one in Surprise leadership has pushed back against this facility. Not the school district. Not the mayor or council. Our fire and police departments still have no answers about what this facility would mean for their ability to respond to emergencies. Our residents, students, and first responders remain unprepared for what it will bring. In every meeting I've had with Surprise leadership, there has been no commitment to fight it. So we'll keep doing the work ourselves and we'll keep holding our leaders accountable until they do theirs.
On a personal note, I turned 18 this month and registered to vote. I'll be voting for the first time in the upcoming midterms. In April, I was honored when Attorney General Kris Mayes invited me to speak at her press conference announcing the lawsuit against DHS. This November, I'll get to vote for her re-election.
To see the photos from my meeting with Senator Gallego, you can go to my Facebook and Instagram.
Sincerely,
Cali Overs
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Please sign and share my 3-mile buffer zone petition to keep ICE detention centers away from K-12 schools at www.3milebuffer.com