U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., wants to block the Trump administration from converting two industrial warehouses near Atlanta into immigration detention centers.
Warnock filed an amendment to a Department of Homeland Security funding bill Thursday that would prohibit the use of federal funds for the “acquisition, construction, renovation, or expansion” of immigrant detention facilities in Social Circle and Oakwood — two small Georgia towns home to warehouses that ICE is eyeing to dramatically expand its immigrant detention capacity in the state.
“The people of Georgia want secure borders; they do not want massive immigration detention centers in their backyards,” Warnock said in a statement. “If the Trump administration focused on getting violent criminals out of the country, we would not need new detention centers straining Georgia’s rural communities.”
The Department of Homeland Security finalized its purchase of the Social Circle warehouse on Feb. 3, paying roughly $129 million for the 183-acre property. The agency has said that warehouse could hold as many as 10,000 detainees.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
On Tuesday, Oakwood city leadership told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the purchase of a warehouse there by the federal government was imminent. Oakwood is in Hall County.
As news of ICE’s plans spread, residents expressed outrage and skepticism during recent Social Circle and Oakwood community meetings. And local leaders in both towns have expressed concern that their water and sewer infrastructure won’t support large detention facilities.
Leadership in both cities has also lamented the fiscal impact of the projects, as federal takeover removes properties from city tax rolls. There are also open questions about what conditions would be like for detainees inside facilities not built for human habitation.
In a statement released Wednesday, the Oakwood mayor and City Council also flagged the likely “economic disruption to Hall County’s large Hispanic community, which is an essential part of the workforce supporting local industries, small businesses, and the broader consumer economy.”
Despite their extensive concerns, local leaders in Georgia have concluded that they lack the authority to influence ICE’s plans.
“Because federal agencies are exempt from local zoning and regulatory authority, only our federal legislative delegation can influence this decision,” the Oakwood statement says.
If the funding bill Warnock amended does not pass by this weekend, DHS will shut down for at least one week. Immigration enforcement operations are not expected to be affected, however, since ICE received billions in separate funding last year, including $45 billion to expand its detention system.
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