A small town about 45 miles east of Atlanta is pushing back against a massive immigration detention center leaders say will stretch its infrastructure past the breaking point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social Circle City Manager Eric Taylor said there is a lock on the water meter at the facility, and it will stay there until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can demonstrate that it can operate the facility without overburdening water and sewer services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is a lock on the meter,\u201d Taylor said in a statement. \u201cA representative from ICE was informed about the lock on the meter shortly after the sale of the property when she inquired about how to establish an account. The lock is there until ICE indicates how water and sewer will be served without exceeding our limited infrastructure capacity. The City of Social Circle is not satisfied that an adequate engineering analysis has been conducted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taylor said information provided by ICE officials suggests the facility, originally built to be an industrial warehouse, would exceed the water and sewer capacity of the town. Plans call for the facility to house up to 10,000 detainees at a time and employ up to 2,500 people, according to city officials. Social Circle\u2019s population is around 5,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The detention center is part of ICE\u2019s $38.6 billion Detention Reengineering Initiative funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to facilitate the Trump administration\u2019s controversial mass deportation plans, but Social Circle leaders reported being blindsided by the plans late last year when they became public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCity officials learned of the media report at the same time as the public,\u201d the city posted in a news update in December. \u201cTo date, no representative of the federal government, ICE, or the property owner has contacted the City in any way, nor has the City received an application related to detention operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to ICE documents<\/a> shared by Social Circle, the project is set to include more than 2.3 million square feet of space across three buildings on 183 acres of land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other planning documents<\/a> show that eight large-scale detention centers across the country, including the one planned in Social Circle, would house detainees for \u201cperiods averaging less than 60 days\u201d before they are deported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to dormitories for detainees, the agency says the facilities will include lobbies, recreational space, courtrooms, intake and processing zones and cafeterias as well as amenities for ICE agents and contractor staff like offices and exercise facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ICE expects all of its new facilities to be in operation by the end of November, the documents show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation policy and ICE\u2019s aggressive tactics have been subject to scrutiny \u2013 and protest, especially after the high-profile deaths of civilians in Minneapolis. But Latino Community Fund Georgia Deputy Executive Director Jean-Luc Rivera said opposition to the facility has gone beyond politics or immigration policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSocial Circle is doing what they need to protect their residents and make sure they still have access to water and the utilities they need,\u201d he said. \u201cI think this is probably being seen as obviously more a pushback on the detention center being built in regards to immigration, but also I think a really important factor here in this story is that this is also to protect the residents of Social Circle and make sure they have access to the utilities because of the huge drain that this is going to put on the infrastructure there that\u2019s not built for this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Social Circle is located mostly in Walton County, where President Donald Trump won more than 70% of the vote in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ICE did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. In an FAQ attached to the documents shared by the city, ICE said it had ensured its detention centers will not overwhelm local resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cICE conducted a thorough due diligence process prior to purchasing each facility. The due diligence review included thorough site inspections, analysis of utility services, and testing and inspection of mechanical and electrical systems. Our teams also reviewed zoning reports, conducted site fit testing and reviewed power supply systems, water supply infrastructure and wastewater exportation based on estimated usage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n WSB-TV was the first to report<\/a> the news of the site\u2019s locked water meter.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOakwood plan<\/h4>\n\n\n\n