U.S. DHS Cancels Georgia Mega‑Detention Center Plan Amid Wider Immigration Crackdown

The Department of Homeland Security announced it will not convert a former warehouse in Social Circle, Georgia, into a detention facility that could have housed up to 10,000 immigration detainees. The federal government had purchased the property for $128.5 million, four times its 2023 sale price, as part of a broader initiative to repurpose seven newly‑acquired warehouses for ICE detention across the United States. Local officials said the site may return to private ownership.

At the same time, the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement has led to the detention of roughly 500 children and infants in ICE facilities since January 2025. Advocacy groups report severe conditions, including hunger strikes, inadequate medical care, and a rising death toll that has reached 19 in 2026 alone. The Dilley detention center in Texas, reopened by the administration, has been highlighted for its especially poor treatment of families and young children.