South Georgia soon will become home to the largest illegal immigrant detention center in the country.
The D. Ray James Correctional Facility in Charlton County will become part of the Folkston Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Centre under a $47 million contract county and federal government officials reached in June.
The nearly 3,000-bed facility – up from its current capacity of almost 1,100 beds – would bring about 400 jobs to the area, Coastal Georgia’s congressman said.
“With this expansion, Georgia will strengthen its status as a national leader in the fight to secure our southern border,” said U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, R-Savannah. “I’m proud to have worked with Charlton County to get the D. Ray James Correctional Facility expansion over the finish line, which will bring jobs and economic growth to our region.”
The city of Folkston will receive $600,000 a year in revenue from water and sewer services provided to the facility.
President Donald Trump’s big budget bill the Republican majorities in Congress passed last week includes $45 billion to build new immigration detention centers, a 265% annual increase. Trump has made immigration enforcement and detention a major priority of his second-term administration.
📈 Behind The Numbers: Some of you may be asking how these numbers can be over 100%. This isn’t a problem with the numbers, it just means you are bad at math. Percentages of increase over 100% mean something has more than doubled. For example, a 100% increase means something has doubled, a 200% increase means it’s three times bigger than it was at the start.
Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News Service
Dave Williams is the Bureau Chief for Capitol Beat News Service. He is a veteran reporter who has reported on Georgia state government and politics since 1999. Before that, he covered Georgia’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.
