The Mesa airport that houses a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement temporary holding facility warned the building’s owner that the overcrowding witnessed by members of Congress and documented by the Arizona Mirror could violate the building’s lease.
“Any occupancy beyond the approved capacity of the facility may be in violation of City of Mesa Fire Codes and in default of (Strategic Government Properties) land lease agreement with (Mesa-Gateway Airport Authority),” J. Brian O’Neill, executive director and CEO of MGAA, said in a letter sent on Tuesday that the Mirror obtained through a public records request.
The letter comes after multiplereportsby the Mirror showing that the Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center has housed more than the 157 detainees it is listed as being able to house, sometimes upwards of 777 people in a single day and for longer periods of time. A certificate of occupancy issued by the City of Mesa allows for no more than 203 people to be in the building at any one time…