The town that said 'no' to ICE — BBC News

[0:00] I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan. [0:01] But I just thought it was crazy. [0:03] For the first time in 26 years, [0:05] I'm embarrassed to tell people where I live. [0:07] We're in the town of Social Circle, Georgia, [0:09] which is about 40 minutes outside of Atlanta. [0:12] It's a small town of 5,000 in a county [0:14] that voted 70% for Donald Trump in the last election. [0:18] When it comes to ICE and deportation, [0:21] there's a lot of support for the president [0:22] and his agenda with regard to ICE. [0:25] Illegal immigration, I'm not a proponent of that. [0:28] I believe some people should be deported. [0:30] It's a necessary evil. [0:32] I mean, we have to protect our sovereignty. [0:35] And yet, residents from both sides of the political spectrum [0:38] are pushing back against ICE, [0:40] trying to turn a massive warehouse into a detention facility. [0:43] I'd say about 80% of the town is opposed [0:47] to having the ICE detention center here in Social Circle. [0:50] I would say that more than half of the town [0:53] is in favor of having an ICE detention center somewhere else. [0:57] So right behind me is the empty warehouse [0:59] that ICE wants to turn into a detention facility [1:01] to house 10,000 people. [1:03] That's twice the population of Social Circle itself. [1:06] We're a small town, but we still have connections [1:09] with our state and local and even congressional representatives. [1:14] And I was amazed at how shocked and confused, actually, [1:17] they were that this had all happened [1:19] and that they didn't know anything about it. [1:21] My impression of Social Circle [1:23] is a very sweet little southern town. [1:25] I didn't want to see Social Circle turning into prison town. [1:30] We have basic human rights concerns [1:32] about the idea of having people warehoused [1:36] in a place that was not built for human habitation. [1:39] ICE paid almost $130 million for this facility, [1:43] and their plans include gyms, recreational areas, [1:46] cafeterias, court facilities, and even a gun range on site. [1:50] We saw a sketch of the floor plan that was distributed [1:54] by the Homeland Security Department [1:57] that the City of Social Circle very boldly put online. [2:01] An architect has looked over it. [2:03] Other cities have looked at the warehouse plan for our city [2:07] just because we are the one that has that floor plan known [2:10] and have said there are so many problems with it. [2:12] It would not work. [2:13] They also have concerns about water supply and sewage. [2:17] We are going to triple the side of our town. [2:19] We do not have the water infrastructure [2:21] to support that right now. [2:24] Our water system can only process 660,000 gallons a day. [2:29] Now ICE has told us that they need [2:30] a million gallons of water a day. [2:33] So in essence, if they hook up to our water system, [2:36] they have the ability to commandeer every gallon [2:38] that we process on a daily basis. [2:40] It kind of recently became known [2:42] that the city manager put a lock on the water meter. [2:46] That's not news. [2:48] He never established water service to that site. [2:50] It is a vacant shell of a building. [2:53] There has been no further construction development [2:56] in the building. [3:01] This elementary school is just a five-minute drive [3:03] from the warehouse. [3:06] As a mom myself, I have concerns about the safety of that. [3:09] The detainees obviously aren't going to be out walking around, [3:12] but the 2,500 people that that facility is going to employ [3:16] don't care about what happens in Social Circle. [3:19] I'm all for doing what's best for the country, [3:22] but is it best for this community? [3:25] There are better resources, [3:27] and they were better able to accomplish their goals [3:32] in other areas. [3:33] In their most recent response to our activities, [3:37] they said, well, obviously the leaders here [3:39] are siding with criminal illegals. [3:43] Well, if you had had any interaction [3:47] with the community at all, [3:49] you would know that that's not the case. [3:51] What we have an issue with or a problem with [3:54] is the lack of due diligence, [3:56] the lack of engagement, [3:58] the lack of logical thought process [4:01] with dealing with this. [4:03] You know, we want to go back to being a town [4:05] that nobody really knows where we are, [4:07] and, you know, our biggest corporate structure in town [4:11] is the Waffle House. [4:12] We'll do everything we legally can [4:14] to try to oppose this thing from happening. [4:18] When asked about residents' concerns, [4:20] DHS told the BBC that they're reviewing [4:22] agency policies and proposals. [4:25] Right now, it's unclear whether the residents [4:26] will be successful in their fight to put a stop [4:29] to a detention center in their charming spot. [4:32] This farm is directly across the street [4:34] from the property, [4:36] and every day I drive by it [4:37] and they haven't done anything, [4:38] I'm more and more encouraged. [4:40] What I'm hoping for is that the new Homeland Security [4:43] Secretary will look at it and say, [4:46] this is not something we want to do. [4:48] Let's just abandon this plan. [4:49] At his confirmation hearing [4:51] to be the next head of DHS, [4:52] Mark Wayne Mullen said this. [4:54] We want to work with community leaders. [4:55] We want to be good partners. [4:57] Since Mullen was sworn in, [4:59] Social Circle City Manager says plans [5:01] for the warehouse seem to be on pause, [5:03] and the department has indicated [5:04] it will be reviewing all new warehouse purchases. [5:07] But they have already invested $128 million. [5:10] So, not to say that that wouldn't be the first time [5:12] that the government, you know, [5:14] spent money that ended up not doing anything, so.