SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. – U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Social Circle Mayor David Keener have banded together in opposition to a rumored Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility that would be built in Social Circle.

The Washington Post first reported in December 2025 that ICE was looking to house detainees to be staged for deportation in warehouses across the United States. Some of these warehouses could house around 5,000-10,000 detainees.

According to records obtained by The Post, ICE was eyeing Social Circle as the location of one of these facilities. Locals have since expressed belief that the site would be an existing 1.2-million square foot warehouse on a 183-acre tract at East Hightower Trail and Social Circle Parkway. Though no information naming a planned location has been brought forth, many locals believe this is the only suitable building in the city for this site.

The property, which according to tax records is owned by PNK S1 LLC out of Roswell, is set to be discussed at the Jan. 27 Social Circle Planning Commission meeting.

But before the commission meeting, Ossoff and Keener wanted to make it clear where they stand.

“A proposed ICE detention facility is not right for Social Circle, and the City of Social Circle does not support it,” Ossoff and Keener said in a joint statement on Jan. 23. “We are urging the Administration to abandon this plan, which risks overwhelming the City's resources and more than tripling its population.”

Social Circle officials have already publicly expressed their opposition to the plan in various statements. The warehouse, should it go as planned, would nearly triple the city’s population.

“A key reason that such a facility is infeasible is because the City does not have the water and sewer infrastructure to support this type of facility,” the city said in a released statement last month. Current capacity limitations would not support a development of the size described in media reports… In addition to the lack of water and sewer capacity, there is not a site within the City that will provide a safe distance from homes, businesses, and schools. The City will not tolerate a failure in security.

“The Mayor and City Council of the City of Social Circle unequivocally does not support an ICE detention facility in the City or the surrounding areas. City officials are evaluating what authority, if any, the city has in this matter and will continue to oppose any efforts of this kind through all appropriate channels.”

A number of local residents have already banded together in opposition, holding protests and meetings about the rumored facility over recent weeks.

Ossoff said that he has voiced these concerns from local residents and city staff alike in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting Director Todd Lyons.

 “City and county officials have reported challenges getting answers from ICE about the prospective facility,” Ossoff wrote. “I urge the Department to carefully consider the significant concerns raised by Social Circle’s leaders and citizens regarding the proposed ICE facility. I further urge the Department to promptly engage the City’s leadership to ensure that its citizens receive critical information regarding the proposed facility and its potential impacts on their community.”