SOCIAL CIRCLE, GA (Feb. 4,2025) – The residents of Social Circle and the surrounding community have been concerned about the possibility of an ICE detention facility coming to the city following a report in The Washington Post late last year. But the mayor and other officials have let it be known that they had not been approached about it and felt that the infrastructure would not support it.
However, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins today informed them that it does not appear that the city officials and residents concerns are going to matter. He advised city officials that the property in question, a spec data center property owned by PNK, is currently in escrow for just that purpose.
According to Congressman Collins and his staff, the site was initially considered as an alternative location by the US Department of Homeland Security. However, certain operational metrics ultimately aligned, resulting in the property now being identified as a preferred site.
City officials immediately gave details to the community on social media letting them know that they had been told that the Department of Homeland Security has conducted an engineering evaluation of city utilities and economic impact reports are currently being prepared.
“The City of Social Circle has not been asked for, nor has it provided, any input related to this evaluation or planning process,” officials noted on social media, noting that they have asked for this information to be presented in writing along with a proposed timeline. Collins and his staff reportedly indicated that housing at the facility is expected to begin as early as April.
As noted by Jim Thompson in the Walton Tribune on Dec. 30, local officials were caught off guard by a Dec. 24 report in The Washington Post stating that Social Circle is being considered as one of seven sites across the United States where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appears to be planning to use renovated industrial warehouses to house thousands of immigrant detainees and speed up deportations.
Although the Post noted that the draft solicitation was not final and subject to change — and a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said she could not confirm the reporting and declined to comment — the report still caught Social Circle officials and residents by surprise.
Social Circle Police Chief Jason Guest addressed the issue at last month’s TRIAD meeting in Loganville, where he and other Social Circle officials were guest speakers. At that time, nobody in the state from the governor on down had any knowledge that the city was even being considered. Guest reiterated that the Washington Post relied on a draft report and said he was confident that if the proposal were taken any further, officials would determine that an ICE detention center in Social Circle is not feasible. He said that not only local officials, but no officials in Georgia that he knows of, were aware of the plan.
“Fortunately for us, I retired from the federal government and have a more intimate knowledge of the different federal agencies, and nobody — from the governor on down to the mayor and council — had any knowledge of it. Nobody knows anything,” Guest said. “And Social Circle is the last place that should be considered. We just don’t have the resources. We can’t provide water and sewer. The facility they were looking at is too close to a road, and it is only 4,000 feet from a brand-new school. We are not a place they could secure — and we would still have to feed those folks. They’re detainees and have even more rights than inmates. Now you’re looking at feeding them, and even if we could get the services in, where is the staff going to eat at 9 p.m. in Social Circle? You would need to provide medical services. If people need medicine, we would have to get it from CVS. We just physically cannot do it, and anybody with any common sense would know that.”
Social Circle City Manager Eric Taylor echoed Guest’s assessment of the situation, reiterating that the city did not have the infrastructure necessary to accommodate a detention center that would, in effect, triple the city’s population, which is currently 5,415.
The property that it appears to have been chosen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the purpose of establishing an ICE detention facility is a warehouse on 183 acres at 1365 E. Hightower Trail near Social Circle Parkway that was built as a warehouse and not for human habitation.
Some residents have already protested a recent visit by officials who were believed to be members of the federal government. These new developments appear to confirm that the visitors to the facility were in fact who they were believed to be.
Social Circle officials assured residents they will continue to seek verified information and will share updates with the public as they become available,
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