Yes.
In July 2025, Arizona sold a former Marana prison to Management & Training Corporation (MTC). The company operates job corps centers and correctional facilities nationwide, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers.
The Marana prison closed in late 2023. Though MTC has not publicly confirmed its plans for the site, a Marana official said the company previously indicated the facility may reopen as an ICE detention center.
MTC operated a prison in Kingman until 2015, when the state canceled its contract following an investigation that found the company failed to properly train staff, maintain security systems and quell riots. State officials said the unrest was “likely precipitated by inmate dissatisfaction with MTC’s operation of the prison.”
The facility’s possible use as an ICE detention center comes amid reduced federal oversight. In March 2025, the Department of Homeland Security eliminated offices that investigated civil rights violations and immigration-related complaints.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- Arizona Sells Marana Prison Back to Former Operator for $15 Million, Real Estate Daily
- ADCRR to Save $15 Million By Ending Private Prison Contract for Marana Correctional Facility, Office of the Governor Katie Hobbs
- About Us, Management & Training Corporation
- Arizona State Prison-Kingman Riots Assessment, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry
- Who's watching DHS? Project on Government Oversight
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
