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At the center of Thursday night’s community meeting is the former Arizona State Prison-Marana, which was the state’s first private prison until Arizona bought the facility in 2013 from Centerville, Utah-based Management and Training Corporation (MTC).

MTC, which already runs five ICE detention centers in California and Texas, bought back the prison earlier this year for $15 million. The corporation informed the Marana Town Council a few months ago that “the facility may be used as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center,� but hasn’t confirmed that officially, town officials have said.

Pima County Supervisor Jen Allen, who possibility, said during Thursday night’s meeting that local leaders don’t know a lot because MTC could try to skip local officials and strike a deal with the federal government to house ICE detainees. Still, she said conversations about the facility is important because the prospect of an immigration detention site would affect all of Pima County.

“The Marana community, and the greater community, should be informed as early as possible, and that we need to begin discussing,� Allen said. “Having an ICE facility anywhere in the county has ripple effects across our community. It affects our families, it affects our neighbors, our schools. It affects businesses. It affects every facet of our community.�

Four speakers assembled a panel for Thursday night’s discussion: Mo Goldman, a longtime immigration attorney based in Tucson; Noah Schramm, an immigrants’ rights and border policy strategist for ACLU Arizona; Liz Casey, a social worker for the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project; and Caroline Isaacs, executive director of Just Communities Arizona.

Florence Johnson, an audience member with local activist organization Take Action Tucson, asked what local or state agencies, like “a fire department in Marana and the state public health officials,� could do to require new permits if the facility re-opens for ICE detainments.

The tactic of slowing down the process via local permitting in various areas, such as permitting for utilities or building codes, was a common question brought up throughout the almost two-hour discussion.

Isaacs said it’s something local leaders can look at, but complications could arise given the nature of the transaction since it would be between MTC and the federal government. But questions surrounding permitting or the facility’s condition could be a way in, she said.

“We have a lot of questions that would really be important to continue discussing with local leaders, such as what about the physical condition of this facility? It is over 30 years old, it’s been sitting empty — has there been an inspection before they bought this thing? What kind of condition is it in? Will it needed to be improved or upgraded? Who’s going to do that (and) how does that work? I think there’s a lever there,� she said. Many of the questions asked by audience members Thursday night asked what, as a community, could be done, if anything, to stop a potential ICE facility from opening up.

“I think the best thing, the most powerful thing, is to build clear public opposition. Make it clear, not only to MTC, but also to your local elected representatives, representatives in the (U.S.) House and the Senate, that this is intolerable, that this is a priority issue, that this is something that you will not stop bothering them about,� Schramm said.

After the meeting, Allen said she is looking into what the Pima County Board of Supervisors could do to stop the potential ICE facility from opening.

“I want to figure out if there are some levers that the county has that could stop this from happening. That’s the most important thing. We can do opposing statements (or resolutions), but I think the real questions is, what can we do that has a significant impact in slowing it down and-or stopping it?� Allen said.