Multiple sources say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is no longer pursuing the operation of detention facilities in Oakwood and Social Circle.

Warehouse in South Hall listed as a potential ICE facility / photo taken by Avery Bryson

Warehouse in South Hall listed as a potential ICE facility / photo taken by Avery Bryson

The City of Social Circle issued a statement on Thursday evening, June 18, saying it received confirmation from "multiple sources," including from within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS,) that plans to operate a facility there were no longer plans to operate a facility there. One of the sources the city cited was 10th District U.S. Congressman Mike Collins.

While the City of Oakwood has not issued any direct statements, reports by both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times have cited that the warehouse on Atlanta Highway that DHS recently purchased was on a list of facilities ICE was planning to sell or hand off. Among that list were facilities in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Utah.

DHS issued a statement Friday morning.

"From day one, DHS has remained singularly focused on removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from the United States and is always evaluating the best methods to do so," DHS said. "These heinous criminals, once arrested, should be removed at lightning speed, not housed on American soil at the taxpayer's expense. DHS is moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners."

After it was announced earlier this year that detention facilities were planned to be built in Oakwood and Social Circle, backlash ensued from both the public and local government officials. Oakwood city officials spoke out against the project, citing water and sewer capacity concerns, while Hall County commissioners and Gainesville city officials cited security and tax base concerns for the wider South Hall area.

Both of Georgia's U.S. Senators, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, issued statements Thursday evening in response to the news.

"For months, I have been working to stop the construction of a massive 10,000-person ICE facility in Social Circle," Warnock said. "The power of the people is always more powerful than the people in power."

"This news proves yet again that public pressure and opposition works," Ossoff said.