The Daily Populous Thursday March 19th, 2026 night edition
Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by Unusual-State1827

The City of Social Circle has a message for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: No water or sewer services for its planned detention center until city officials get some information.

On Monday, the city shared a statement saying it has placed a lock on the water meter connected to the warehouse ICE plans to convert into a facility that could hold thousands of immigration detainees.

The city said it informed an ICE representative about the lock shortly after the sale of the property when the agency asked "how to establish an account."

"The lock is there until ICE indicates how water and sewer will be served without exceeding our limited infrastructure capacity," the statement reads in part.

The warehouse on Hightower Trail is expected to become an ICE facility holding thousands of detainees. CBS News Atlanta

Department of Homeland Security documents previously obtained by the city showed that ICE planned to turn the warehouse on Hightower Trail into a "mega center" expected to hold 7,500 to 10,000 detainees.

Once construction has begun, the agency estimates it would begin accepting detainees sometime between mid-May and June, and it expects to employ 2,000 to 2,500 staff.

The documents show DHS estimates detainees will stay in the centers for about 60 days. The facility is also planned to have holding areas, gyms, recreational spaces, cafeterias, a gun range and other offerings.

From the first time that Social Circle was informed of the plan, the city has expressed concerns over how the detention center may strain its services.

"Our permit to draw water out of the river is 1 million gallons a day. Our sewer plant can process 660,000 gallons per day and is at capacity," the city's statement reads. "Their BLUF analysis indicates a daily water and sewer need that exceeds these amounts."

The agency has argued in an infrastructure analysis that the detention facility will be designed "to not affect the existing infrastructure adversely in any way."

"The design currently includes on-site mitigation strategies for wastewater treatment. Additional contingencies are in place if required due to non-engineering circumstances," DHS's document reads.

Social Circle is one of two cities in Georgia where the agency plans to build inmate detention centers. The other, Oakwood in Hall County, has asked the Department of Homeland Security to put all planning, construction and preparations for the 1,500 inmate facility on hold until it receives more details.

CBS News Atlanta reached out to ICE about Social Circle's latest move and was told the agency did not have a comment at this time.

garry4321 on March 18th, 2026 at 16:20 UTC »

You mean concentration camp.

IndigoRanger on March 18th, 2026 at 16:16 UTC »

It actually wouldn’t surprise me if ICE went ahead with their plans and just didn’t bother having water or sewage at their concentration camp.

Unusual-State1827 on March 18th, 2026 at 15:47 UTC »

> The City of Social Circle has a message for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: No water or sewer services for its planned detention center until city officials get some information.

> On Monday, the city shared a statement saying it has placed a lock on the water meter connected to the warehouse ICE plans to convert into a facility that could hold thousands of immigration detainees.

> "The lock is there until ICE indicates how water and sewer will be served without exceeding our limited infrastructure capacity," the statement reads in part.

> From the first time that Social Circle was informed of the plan, the city has expressed concerns over how the detention center may strain its services.

> "Our permit to draw water out of the river is 1 million gallons a day. Our sewer plant can process 660,000 gallons per day and is at capacity," the city's statement reads. "Their BLUF analysis indicates a daily water and sewer need that exceeds these amounts."