U.S. DHS drops plan for 10,000‑bed immigration detention warehouse in Georgia

The Department of Homeland Security announced it will abandon the proposal to convert an industrial warehouse in Social Circle, Georgia, into a 10,000‑bed immigration detention center. The decision follows months of local opposition, lawsuits, and concerns over the town’s infrastructure, and it was confirmed by Rep. Mike Collins after the city sued DHS and ICE.

The move is part of a broader retreat from the ICE Detention Reengineering Initiative, which had purchased eleven warehouses for more than $700 million to create a government‑owned network capable of holding up to 100,000 detainees. DHS said it will rely on existing jails run by private contractors and state or local partners, while four warehouse projects may still proceed and the rest are slated for sale or transfer to other agencies.