Towns act to curb ICE facility plans

Irene Wright

USA TODAY

Two small towns in Georgia are preparing to become new hubs for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the southeast as the Department of Homeland Security works to retrofit industrial warehouses into detention facilities.

And town officials are trying to fight back.

A smaller warehouse in Oakwood is set to become a detainee processing facility with about 1,500 beds. And a massive warehouse in Social Circle is being converted to a longer-term center where detainees will be held before deportation. As many as 10,000 detainees could be held there. The facilities are expected to open later this spring.

Officials in both towns, which are about 40 to 50 minutes outside Atlanta, found out their properties had been selected by DHS only when Washington Post reporters called to confirm it.

Residents have strongly opposed the centers, despite voting for Republicans overwhelmingly in the last few elections. Officials say that water and sewer systems can’t handle the sudden influx and that there has been little to no conversations between DHS officials and local engineers.

Town officials have little to no control over the properties once they were purchased by the federal government.

That hasn’t stopped them from trying.

Social Circle has taken the first major step to slow down the construction process by shutting off water and sewer services at the detention center, and putting a lock on the water meter, a city representative confirmed to WSB-TV.

The water will remain off 'until ICE indicates how water and sewer to the facility will be served without exceeding the limited infrastructure capacity,' a representative told the outlet.

In a previous statement in February, the city said DHS gave them documents that said the facility would have 'no adverse effect' on the community. 'The City’s concerns regarding water and sewer infrastructure have not been addressed to our satisfaction. We continue to have more questions than answers,' the statement said.

Social Circle was already in plans to build a new sewer treatment plant and increase its capacity over time as the city’s population grows.

'If DHS intends to rely on this future facility to meet the demands of its project, the question remains whether it plans to assist in alleviating the significant financial burden associated with accelerating or expanding that infrastructure,' the city said.

At an Oakwood City Council meeting on March9, residents spoke in support of a proposed resolution asking federal officials to pause the 1,500-bed facility.

The resolution passed unanimously. However, it is largely procedural and doesn’t make any changes to city policy or action.

According to the resolution, shared with USA TODAY by city planner B.R. White, the city filed a Freedom of Information Act request for 'all documentation' that led DHS to conclude the new facility would have 'no significant impact' on the area, including 'scoping documents, environmental studies, traffic studies, sewer-capacity analyses, public-safety impact assessments, and all contractor-prepared materials.'

The 'absence of any such documentation reasonably suggests that the required environmental and administrative reviews have not been completed,' officials wrote in the resolution, or that those reviews 'have not been disclosed to the local government most directly affected.'

The resolution asks DHS to stay all action at the Oakwood facility until the FOIA request is completed, adding, 'The City of Oakwood is evaluating all legal options available to protect its residents.'