Work in progress. Any Additional Info on Community Response Needed, Please.
Atlanta Press Collective
“Social Circle community unites against plan to use warehouse for ICE detention“
https://atlpresscollective.com/2026/01/09/social-circle-unite-against-ice-detention-facility/
The Guardian Feb 18
Conservative Town Pushes Back Against ICE Detention,”we are americans after all”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/18/ice-detention-center-warehouse-georgia
CBS News
1. Rally
https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/hundreds-rally-in-walton-county-against-proposed-ice-detention-center-in-social-circle/
2. Warnock visit
Stat News
Measles in ICE facility is a Public Health Failure
A marginalized population, a highly contagious disease, no systemic vaccination safeguards — this was inevitable
statnews.com/2026/02/04/measles-outbreak-immigration-detention-center-preventable/
ICE Documents:
ICE Detention Reengineering Initiative
https://www.socialcirclega.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/1520/639070371362100000
ICE Social Circle Discussions: Conversion of Large Facility to Detention Center
https://www.socialcirclega.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/1522/639070371368600000
(Both ICE documents were provided to City Officials in Social Circle Georgia)
I suggest download these and also the Social Circle town officials
Update* posted on feb 18. They may not be on the internet indefinitely.
Town Document:
Social Circle Ga. Town update* Feb 18 2026:
Updated Statement Regarding ICE Detention Facility 2/18/2026
https://www.socialcirclega.gov/Home/Components/News/News/241/16
2.
How ICE Plans to put 8,500 Immigrants in this Warehouse
McCann, Rosales, Rubinowitz; NY Times (9 March 2026)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/09/us/politics/ice-georgia-immigration-social-circle-warehouse.html
Immigrants’ Rights Groups Oppose ICE Mega-Prison in Social Circle, Georgia
Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Feb 5 2026)
https://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/news/immigrants-rights-groups-oppose-ice-mega-prisonin-social-circle-georgia
JAMA NETWORK JOURNAL Vol 8, No.10
“Epidemiology of 3 Vaccine-Preventable Infectious Diseases Within US
Immigration Detention Centers “
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2840395
Profile of the state of Georgia
By PrisonPolicy (dot) org
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/GA.html
ICE raids in Georgia
Georgia near top of nation for ICE raids in 2025
(yahoo news)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/georgia-near-top-nation-ice-222412253.html
WSBTV.COM (December 2025)
https://www.wsbtv.com/video/local-video/georgia-near-top-nation-ice-arrests-this-year-leaving-lasting-effects-families/85446f91-fbfd-473c-881c-584eb5ef9467/
Page 3
Community Responses and Organising
Immigrants Rights Oppose ICE Mega Prison in Social Circle Georgia
advancingjustice (dot) org (note organizations listed in 2nd paragraph)
https://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/news/immigrants-rights-groups-oppose-ice-mega-prisonin-social-circle-georgia
Detention Center, Georgia (Irwin County Detention Center)
Georgia Advocacy Groups, Organizers, and Impacted Community Members Sound Alarm as a Notorious South Georgia Jail Is Poised to Be Used as an ICE Prison Again
https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/pressroom/releases/2025/georgia-advocacy-groups-organizers-impacted-community-members-sound-alarm
Is ICE paying higher than market rate in property purchases?
1. ICE paying overinflated prices in purchases of warehouses and real estate (USA Today)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/03/06/ice-warehouse-immigration-detention-expansion/88861213007/
2. Overinflated Prices
USA Today’s A.I. says this:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is paying significantly higher prices than appraised values to acquire commercial warehouses for detention centers. Experts suggest these high costs may be a strategy by the Department of Homeland Security to secure properties from developers and landowners despite local opposition. (continued on next page)
Page 4
-continued-
Senator Cory Booker has criticized the initiative, noting that the government paid $129.3 million for a New Jersey facility assessed at just $62 million. In Georgia, ICE purchased a warehouse in Social Circle for $128.5 million, nearly $100 million above its tax-assessed value. While the agency maintains it pays fair market value based on independent federal appraisals, local officials in towns like Oakwood express concern over the lack of communication and the millions in infrastructure costs they must now absorb.
Other
1. Deportation Data (dot) org – Frequently Asked Questions
https://deportationdata.org/docs/ice.html#faq
And Overview – https://deportationdata.org/data.html
2. ICE Arrests across Trump’s First and Second Terms: Variation in Targeting, Method, and Geography
@TechReport{EastPatlerCox_ICEArrests_2025,
author = {Chloe N. East and Caitlin Patler and Elizabeth Cox},
title = {ICE Arrests across Trump’s First and Second Terms: Variation in Targeting, Method, and Geography},
institution = {National Bureau of Economic Research},
year = {2025}, type = {Working Paper}, number = {34794},
url = {https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w34794/w34794.pdf},
note = {Uses administrative data containing all US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests from September 2015-October 2025}.
page 5.
3. Latino ICE Detentions Dramatically Reshaped Under Trump- Jan2026
@TechReport{UCLA_CNK_UnseenLatino_2026,
author = {{Unseen}},
title = {Latino ICE Detentions Dramatically Reshaped Under Trump},
institution = {UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Center for Neighborhood Knowledge},
year = {2026}, month = {January},
URL={https://knowledge.luskin.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/UCLA_CNK_Unseen_Latino_ICE_Detentions_Dramatically_Reshaped_Under_Trump_Jan2026.pdf}
note = {Report analyzing ICE detention patterns and demographics under the Trump administration}.