Morgan Fischer
Audio By Carbonatix
Do you like musical theater? Do you hate the idea of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center opening up in Surprise?
The internet has just the song for you.
On the YouTube page of Democratic congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia is a nearly three-minute, AI-generated upbeat show tune that bombastically warns the West Valley suburb’s leaders about the dangers of letting ICE roll into town with little pushback.
“ICE will make Surprise a prison town!” a male voice sings.
In January, it was reported that the Department of Homeland Security purchased a 400,000-square-foot warehouse to be converted into a detention center without the city’s knowledge. Surprise Mayor Kevin Sartor has been criticized for not pushing back against the facility, and has instead seemingly taken ICE at its word that it will limit the number of detainees held there, not disrupt the city’s suburban calm and will keep the city in the loop on developments with the detention center.
The song — “Surprise! Surprise” is the apparent title — has yet to reach a wide audience. Greene-Placentia’s page has only 19 subscribers and the video had only 42 views as of Thursday afternoon. But it is kind of catchy, even if the AI-ness of it all is a bit unsettling.
Greene-Placentia is running in the Democratic primary for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Should she prevail in that contest, she’ll attempt to unseat GOP Rep. Abe Hamadeh, who represents parts of Surprise, in the solidly red district. Greene-Placentia said a friend of hers — an “amazing AI guy” named Charlie — wrote the lyrics to the song and used AI to bring it to life. Her page also features several other AI-songs and videos for her campaign.
“That’s catchy,” Greene-Placentia recalled saying about the song when it was shared with her. “I don’t know the impact that it will have, but we were going to start sending it out relatively soon because I think we need to increase the pressure on city council and the mayor.”
The 52-year-old Greene-Placentia was a long-haul trucker for 27 years before retiring and deciding to pursue politics and run for Congress. She said she was “pissed” when she heard ICE was placing a detention center in her backyard. She’s concerned about the demands the facility will place on city resources — such as water, power, roads and general infrastructure — but also about her 21-year-old daughter. Greene-Placentia adopted her daughter from China in 2010, and the young woman had recent issues securing her U.S. passport due to residency issues.
“They’re just going after anybody that’s Black or brown,” Green Placentia said of ICE. “They’re going to be all over the place. They’re going to be going into our local restaurants. They’re going to be going into gas stations, grocery stores, they’re going to be everywhere.”
ICE’s constant presence isn’t what Greene-Placentia wants for her town, or what she wants Surprise to be known for. The town has grown into a family-friendly community in recent years, and many families are moving into it as a more affordable option, but Greene-Placentia thinks ICE’s presence will “depress the town.”
“It’s really having a negative impact. People are just furious. They don’t want it,” she said. “This is definitely an example of ‘leadership’ in terms of the mayor and city council not listening to the majority of their residents.”
Almost makes you want to break out in song.
