Georgia town says ICE, DHS 'not above the law' in new agency lawsuit

The battle between a small town and the Department of Homeland Security playing out in rural Georgia took another turn Wednesday as the city filed a lawsuit against the agency.

The City of Social Circle has sued for "injunctive and declaratory relief," naming DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Director Todd Lyons, along with their agencies, for their actions on a proposed detention "mega center."

Social Circle officials say ICE plans to "imprison up to 10,000 people in a commercial warehouse" in their 5,000-person town with no regard for the impact on the city's infrastructure or community.

"Defendants U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are not above the law," the city writes in the lawsuit.

The conflict between the town and DHS has been ongoing for months after the warehouse was purchased earlier this year, with no communication between the agency and the town.

In March, the city went as far as cutting off water and sewer to the soon-to-be retrofitted warehouse to prevent DHS from using the utilities until a greater level of transparency is reached. A lock was put on the water meter, and the city said the water would remain off "until ICE indicates how water and sewer to the facility will be served without exceeding the limited infrastructure capacity."

Lyons previously said the mega centers and their planning should be thought of as a business, or "like (Amazon) (P)rime, but with human beings," the AZ Mirror reported.

USA TODAY reached out to DHS to comment on the lawsuit, but did not receive an immediate response.

Mega center plan an 'ill-conceived overreach'

A massive warehouse in Social Circle, Georgia, about 45 miles southeast of Atlanta, was purchased by DHS on Feb. 3, unbeknownst to town officials. City officials learned about the planned purchase when a reporter called to confirm DHS records.

The agency originally said the warehouse would be converted and operational by June, but Social Circle officials say that was nearly impossible given the infrastructure and environmental constraints of their town.

"Social Circle is not defenseless against (DHS's) ill-conceived overreach. This court should halt DHS and ICE's plans because they fall far short of the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and would create a public nuisance under Georgia state law," the lawsuit notes.

Social Circle says the detention center would place undue strain on the city's already limited water and sewage capacity, and could lead to water shortages and sewage overflows for its residents.

The warehouse plan was put on pause when Mullin took over for Kristi Noem, and Social Circle appears to be using the pause to their advantage by taking the issue to court.

Social Circle repeats arguments

In a previous statement in February, the city said DHS told officials the center is one of eight "mega centers" across the U.S. as part of a new "Hub and Spoke Model" where smaller processing facilities (like the one in Oakwood) would feed into regional centers. DHS said the model would be implemented by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.

"In documents supplied to the City by DHS, it is stated that the facility will have 'no adverse effect on the community and surrounding properties.' The City contends that the information provided is insufficient in fully answering our questions," according to the statement. "... The City's concerns regarding water and sewer infrastructure have not been addressed to our satisfaction. We continue to have more questions than answers."

Social Circle was already planning to build a new sewer treatment plant that would be operated internally, instead of the current system that is outside the city limits, and increase the capacity over time as the city's population grows.

But the detention center, at full capacity, would triple the population of the town, throwing any infrastructure growth plans out the window. In the months since the warehouse purchase, DHS has failed to loop Social Circle officials into the planning conversations, the town says.

"(DHS) has primarily operated behind closed doors, and Social Circle has been forced to piece together factual developments largely from public reporting and other limited documentation," according to the lawsuit.

Will Oakwood follow in Social Circle's footsteps?

While dealing with the possibility of a much smaller facility, the city of Oakwood, north of Atlanta, has been experiencing the same issues with DHS.

During an Oakwood City Council meeting on March 9, residents spoke out in support of a proposed resolution that would ask federal officials to pause the 1,500-bed processing facility planned for a set of two warehouses on an Oakwood property.

The resolution ultimately passed unanimously, but it is largely procedural and doesn't make any changes to city policy or action.

According to the resolution, shared with USA TODAY by city planner B.R. White, the city filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking for "all documentation concerning the Oakwood Facility" that led to the conclusion of "No Significant Impact," by DHS, including "scoping documents, environmental studies, traffic studies, sewer-capacity analyses, public-safety impact assessments, and all contractor-prepared materials."

When asked whether Oakwood would also sue the federal government, White told USA TODAY his town was still considering their options as of May 14.

"The City of Oakwood wholeheartedly supports the efforts of Social Circle to rein in Federal Government overreach and failure to follow rules of law, and its own established procedures," White said.

Earlier this week, White said two towns in Maryland and New Jersey had received notices from DHS and contractors saying they would be "meeting stakeholders and will be completing the historical and environmental assessments before any further work is conducted on sites and buildings in their jurisdiction."

Oakwood, however, had not received a similar notice, according to White.

Irene Wright is following the development of ICE facilities in Georgia as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA TODAY's Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].