SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — The city manager of Social Circle tells Channel 2 Action News that he was blindsided by the government’s recent purchase of a massive, newly constructed warehouse facility to be converted into one of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the country.
He says they are looking at what options they have to prevent construction of the detention center.
“We are considering all actions available to us at this point, to stop this from happening,” said Social Circle city manager Scott Taylor.
Taylor told Channel 2’s Tom Regan that he and other city officials met this week for the first time with representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hear what they plan to do with the 1-million-square-foot facility on East Hightower Trail.
The facility in Social Circle is expected to house anywhere from 7,500 to 10,000 detainees — about double the population of the city — and will be constructed using a modular design so that capacity can be scaled up or down as needed.
The detention facility will employ about 2,500 staff members. The city manager says he worries ICE may try to lure local law enforcement to work at the facility by offering higher pay.
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“Are they going to be pulling from other resources in our area, such as our police department and sheriff’s offices in the area?” said Taylor.
The city manager also says Social Circle doesn’t have sufficient water or sewage treatment infrastructure to support a facility housing thousands of detainees.
“They’re talking about a million gallons a day into a sewage treatment plant that only has a capacity of 600,000 gallons a day,” said Taylor.
DHS officials told city leaders they planned to treat sewage on site, but the city manager suggests that isn’t a simple fix.
“You still have to have some place for the liquid effluent to go. And we don’t have it,” said Taylor.
The city manager also says the Social Circle stands to lose nearly $1 million in annual property tax revenue with the warehouse becoming a federal detention center.
“The federal government doesn’t pay taxes. We have nothing to gain. So it’s a tremendous financial loss to our city and independent school district,” said Taylor.
In documents supplied to Social Circle officials, DHS stated that the facility will have “no adverse effect on the community and surrounding properties.”
Many people who live in the small town oppose construction of the detention center.
“I just don’t want it here. We’re doing all right in Social Circle. Why does Social Circle want to bring this mess here?” said neighbor Mary Jones.
However, others feel differently.
“To help with the current situation with illegal immigration, I agree with it. But I disagree with the way it was brought to us,” said neighbor Terri McCollum.
The detention center is projected to become operational in June.
Friday afternoon, ICE sent Regan a statement saying in part, “Detention sites undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase.”
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