SOCIAL CIRCLE, GA — Community members and elected leaders are celebrating after the Department of Homeland Security canceled plans to build a large immigration detention facility in Social Circle.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock called the decision a victory for the community and credited local activism with helping change the government’s plans.
“These things that were happening in the quiet of night, we shined a light on it, elevated it, people raised their voices and they got their victory,” Warnock said.
The proposed facility was planned for a warehouse in Social Circle. According to DHS estimates, the center could have housed up to 10,000 people.
City officials had opposed the project, saying the community’s infrastructure could not support a facility of that size.
“When we stand up and speak out, the power of the people is more powerful than the people in power,” Warnock said.
Warnock said he had spent months communicating with Department of Homeland Security leadership regarding community concerns about the project.
Both Warnock and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff had pushed measures aimed at stopping the project, including a proposal that would require local approval for immigration detention centers.
With the plans now canceled, questions remain about the future of the warehouse purchased by the federal government.
Warnock said it is now up to DHS to sell the property.
“They wasted $128 million of the tax payers dollars, again twice the market value, and now they have an empty building,” Warnock said.
In a statement, city officials said they hope the property will be sold and returned to the local tax base so it can contribute to the community’s economic vitality.
A smaller detention facility proposed for Oakwood in Hall County is also reportedly no longer being considered.
WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.