The City of Social Circle has sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid a 10,000-person warehouse proposal less than a mile from an elementary school.
The legal action, filed in federal court on May 13, says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE “are not above the law.”
Originally proposed as a “feeder” facility for Social Circle, the City of Oakwood has a 1,500-bed proposal.
Oakwood Manager provides updates
In a call to Oakwood City Manager B.R. White, he said “nothing’s off the table” in response to potential litigation.
This comes after it was reported in March that DHS paused new warehouse purchases to review contracts signed by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“We welcome the pause,” White told AccessWDUN. “We haven’t been contacted directly.”
White added they have been in contact with Georgia 9th Congressional District Representative Andrew Clyde’s Gainesville office, and that the council is waiting on word from DHS after voting in March to urge DHS to halt all action on the facility.
Oakwood’s vote in March followed Hall County’s vote to place a 180-day moratorium on high density developments, data centers, and detention facilities.
Bloated purchase costs benefit developers
Under Noem, the government had 11 warehouses under contract for a combined $1.074-billion. Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was sworn in on March 24.
Houston-based Alliance Industrial Company sold the Oakwood warehouse off of Atlanta Highway to DHS on Feb. 18 for $68.2-million after buying it for $1.99-million in December of 2024.
Social Circle lawsuit
Social Circle cited the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) as grounds to reverse DHS’ attempts.
“Social Circle’s already-strained utility network cannot support the planned facility, which would effectively triple the town’s population. Among other harms, Defendants’ plans to imprison up to 10,000 people in a commercial warehouse would overwhelm Social Circle’s fresh water supply and sewage treatment capabilities—resulting in dry taps and raw human waste spills,” Social Circle’s filing read. “Federal law requires federal agencies to act transparently and reasonably … and Georgia law has long protected the state’s residents from unhealthy, unsafe, and detrimental conduct that constitutes a public nuisance.”
They are seeking a halting of the project.
Local groups respond
Chairman of Gainesville-based The Rainbow Collective Matéo Penado called the warehouse plans “inhumane.”
“Detention centers are already cruel, profit-driven systems. Converting warehouses into detention facilities is flat out inhumane,” Penado said. “The city of Social Circle suing DHS and ICE sets an important precedent, showing that cities like Oakwood can and should use every tool available – including legal action – to stop these inhumane projects. Communities across Georgia clearly oppose detention warehouses. Through organized people power, grassroots efforts have already pushed forward various local measures to block them.”
Walton County’s Indivisible branch, Indivisible Boldy Blue, issued a statement as well.
“Social Circle neighbors overwhelmingly agree that a detention center is not welcome here,” Indivisible Boldy Blue Co-leader Gareth Fenley said. “There’s room for many different reasons that all support the same conclusion. No one should be locked up in a warehouse, not in our community, not in our name. We call on the Department of Homeland Security to abandon the warehouse plan. It’s wrong for Social Circle and wrong for anywhere.”
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