Georgia NewsSocial Circle officials have repeatedly said the city’s infrastructure can’t sustain a large-scale detention facility.This warehouse in Social Circle — seen here in a drone image from January — has been purchased by the U.S. government to detain thousands of immigrants in the building, which is about an hour east of Atlanta. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)March 18, 2026City officials in Social Circle are pushing back against a Trump administration plan to convert a sprawling warehouse into a massive immigrant detention facility capable of holding up to 8,500 people at a time.After repeatedly expressing concern to federal officials that the city’s water and sewer infrastructure is not capable of accommodating such an enormous facility, city officials revealed this week that they placed a lock on the warehouse’s water meter — effectively cutting off water and sewer service from the empty warehouse before it can be converted. htiw lliw nehw saw litnu ot ot eht eht eht eht eht eht taht yats yltrohs ,elas dias dnopser evitatneserper snoitseuq ecalp slaiciffo laiciffo fo reganam kcol kcol demrofni ni woh morf laredef hsilbatse .snrecnoc s’ytic .ytic deksa dna dna na na retfa dedda tnuocca rolyaT noitargimmI ECI eH .beF cirE tnemecrofnE smotsuC ytiC 3 retaw eht detroper fo swen .retem dekcol tsrif sweN lennahC noitcA 2 Social Circle City Manager Eric Taylor and local elected officials, expressed concerns about the proposed site for an ICE detention center on Monday, March 2, 2026. The city’s leaders worry about the facility's insufficient infrastructure. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)ehT“ ehT“ tuohtiw lliw retaw litnu ereht eht taht tnemetats rewes devres deifsitas desaeler daer ruo fo ton kcol detimil si si erutcurtsarfni setacidni woh sah morf gnideecxe gnireenigne ”.detcudnoc ,ytic ”,yticapac neeb eb dna sisylana na etauqeda a laicoS .yadnoM ECI ytiC elcriC gnirud“ .llew retaw retaw esu kcurt dlot ot ot yeht eht taht metsys dnopser tseuqer ylsuoiverp dennalp ro ro no slaiciffo kaep-ffo fo ton sti ti ni ”,sruoh evah morf rof rehtie gid did dluoc tnemmoc ytic a a .yadseuT ehT ytiruceS noitutitsnoC-lanruoJ ECI dnalemoH tnemtrapeD atnaltA This warehouse in Social Circle — seen here in a drone image from January — could hold about 8,500 people once it is converted to an immigrant detention center. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)retaw elbaiv sesu ot ot esoht siht eht eht taht ylppus .snoitulos dias dias stnediser dettimrep snoitpo fo fo enon htnom sti morf reilrae gniknird ward yltnerruc ytic .sessenisub neewteb era dna dna rolyaT reviR eH yvoclA %09 %08 ehT“ woH“ uoy tahw ew retaw retaw yrt ot ot emit ,ereht eht desoppus dias llup edivorp ”?elpoep fo on rettam ”.ti t’nsi rof yad era na lanoitidda rolyaT hcraM .3 000,01 dluow dluow sllew .llew retaw retaw skcurt ot ot ot ot eht eht taht taht ekat ekat ,ezis dias edivorp rep rehto fo .rennam ti ni ni saedi sderdnuh luah rof ytilicaf ytilicaf etamitse hguone sreenigne ,sdne daed yad ytic sa era dna a rolyaT tI 06 03tahW“ tI“ ohw llew retaw ot ot rieht eht elbaniatsus ylppus .dias yler no ton si ”?sdlohesuoh sneppah enoyreve esle ta ”.lla rolyaT Loading...dluow hcihw retaw retaw saw tnemtaert ot eht naht ecivres .dias sedivorp ,noitalupop ,tnalp dennalp elpoep fo fo erom selim reganam detacol detsil ni sah tsae elbuod noitneted ,sremotsuc ,ytic retnec .susnec sa tuoba ehT laicoS laicoS ,yenniK s’ECI s’elcriC s’elcriC hteB ,atnaltA 05 479,3 005,3 0202esuoheraw eht eht ,srotanes detseuqer llup .nalp fo evah morf noisrevnoc denmednoc kcab dna dna ,kconraW leahpaR ffossO noJ ECI s’aigroeG htoBU.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (center) and Social Circle officials spoke out against the detention center after Warnock was given a tour earlier this month of the proposed site and the town's water treatment facilities. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)skloF“ tuB“ lliw tahw detov etov etov tisiv elpirt nwot ot ot siht yeht rieht eht taht ezis ”.loohcs dias tnediserp ecalp ”,ylgnimlehwrevo fo fo ton txen evissam ni s’ereh :rof rof rof yratnemele gnirud t’ndid did noitneted noitneted retnec retnec dna na a a a kconraW pmurT yehT laicoS laicoS tnediserP hcraM dlanoD .elcriC elcriC 3 nosrep-000,01t’ndid“ etov siht rieht rewes ”,secruoser laitnetop deniartsrevo swolfrevo ro sah rof s’ytic retaw-liob esuaceb osla seirosivda noitartsinimda .dedda kconraW yehT Sewage treatment concern htiw lliw esuoheraw ot eht eht ,secaps derahs secivres lanoitaercer .egnar etis-no yrdnual ekatni edulcni gnidloh htlaeh smyg nug ,seitilicaf ,seitilicaf stnemucod moortruoc ,ytic ,sairetefac ,saera ,saera dna dna a gnidroccA lliw retawetsaw ot eht eht metsys .swohs egawes gnissecorp rep revo ,lanoitarepo ,slaiciffo fo noillim si evah snollag snollag tnemucod noitneted dnamed .yad ,yad tnerruc s’ytic retnec yticapac ta na ydaerla gnidrocca a a nehW laicoS ECI elcriC tuB 000,066 1 tI“ egasu siht eht tnemetats .syas fo ”,edutingam esaercni ni s’ytic tonnac na etadommocca yadnoM — lliw retawetsaw owt tnemtaert ot taht secruos laitnetop gninnalp dennalp rep rehto fo fo wen ybraen noillim noillim noitnem laitini ni ni evah .snollag snollag ytilicaf ytilicaf gnidnapxe gnitsixe yllautneve stnemucod yad yticapac erofeb dna na na a ehT laicoS notweN ECI ytnuoC elcriC 3 5.1Social Circle Water Treatment facility water tanks were observed on Monday, March 2, 2026. (Miguel Martinez/AJC) (Miguel Martinez/AJC)lliw ytilitu tnemtaert ot ot ot ot eht eht ekat ,metsys rewes tnalp tnalp .slaiciffo ton ton wen shtnom sah rof gnitsixe seod noitcurtsnoc tcennoc ,etelpmoc ytic nugeb dna dna gnidrocca laicoS notweN ytnuoC s’elcriC tuB 81 21 retawetsaw tnemtaert ot .metsys syas snalp etis-no lacol ti ,erutcurtsarfni gnitcapmi dliub diova na oT ECIsihT“ ruO“ lliw ot ot siht eht eht eht metsys gnidnuorrus deniatnoc-fles .sdaer ”.seitreporp ”,lacitcarp gninnalp on tsom si tcapmi evah s’tnemnrevog sreenigne tnemucod deveileb eb hcaorppa dna taht neve snrecnoc .seitirohtua laicoS elcriC tuB … tahW“ dluow erehw sdnaltew raelcnu ot eht eht tnemetats gnitluser sniamer gnidrager .sdaer sesiar laitnetop no ylbaton ”,noitacol lacol diuqil si stcapmi lanif tneulffe lasopsid .degrahcsid gnidneped snrecnoc ytic eb yllautca a sihTerehw esuoheraw ot ot siht rieht eht ralimis yltnecer desahcrup eno slaiciffo ortem erutcurtsarfni ni ni evah rof .ytilicaf desserpxe noitneted noisrevnoc snrecnoc retnec yticapac rehtona etadommocca tuoba a ECI llaH ,ytnuoC ,atnaltALautaro Grinspan is an immigration reporter at The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.Lautaro Grinspan is an immigration reporter at The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.