The City of Social Circle said Department of Homeland Security officials skipped a meeting with city leaders Friday regarding a planned immigration facility.
The city stated it had scheduled a meeting with the deputy chief of staff for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at 2 p.m. Friday, but federal officials never arrived. Social Circle staff reported they remained available for 45 minutes past the scheduled time and were unable to reach the representatives they were instructed to contact.
The skipped meeting occurred the same week city officials reported that DHS completed the $128.5 million purchase of an industrial warehouse at 1365 E. Hightower Trail. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly plans to begin housing detainees at the site as early as this month, with the capacity to hold up to 10,000 individuals.
Despite the purchase, Social Circle leaders and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-10) have argued that the city’s infrastructure—specifically water and sewer services—cannot support the facility. The addition of 10,000 detainees would effectively triple the city’s current population of approximately 5,000.
Social Circle leaders said they have been excluded from the evaluation and planning processes. They have formally requested engineering evaluations and economic impact reports from the federal government.
The Department of Homeland Security said USCIS does not have a Deputy Chief of Staff.
FOX 5 has reached back out to the city for more information on who they were supposed to meet with.
The facility is just one immigration facility proposed in North Georgia.
The Department of Homeland Security says it plans to spend more than $150 million to retrofit two warehouses in Oakwood for a new regional processing center for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the office of U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde.
