Ossoff, Social Circle mayor voice opposition to possible ICE detention center in city: "Abandon this plan"

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and Social Circle Mayor David Keener are asking the Department of Homeland Security for answers about a reported plan to turn a warehouse in the city limits into a holding center for immigrant detainees. 

In December, the Washington Post reported on a draft solicitation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would use "large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 each" before deportation. Social Circle was one of seven cities named as being the proposed site for one of those warehouses, with the others located in Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, and Missouri.

The plan would also include 16 processing sites that would hold up to 1,500 people each, the Post reported. One of those proposed sites could be located in Jefferson, Georgia.

The agency plans to modify the warehouses for human use, adding housing units, kitchens, a dining area, recreation areas, a medical unit, and more, the newspaper reported.

Since then, Social Circle leaders have been asking for more information about the plan, calling the facility "unfeasible."

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

City leadership has pointed to concerns about the impact to water and sewer infrastructure as well as security issues.

Ossoff has written a letter to Homeland Security Sec. Kristy Noem and Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, urging them to consider Social Circle's concerns and "engage the City's leadership to ensure that its citizens receive critical information regarding the proposed facility."

The draft solicitation by ICE was not finalized and could be changed. Social Circle leaders say they have not received any applications from the agency or private vendors related to immigrant detention and learned about the possible project through the media. 

CBS News Atlanta has reached out to ICE officials for a statement on the plan and Ossoff's letter and will update this story if they choose to respond.