Georgia town sues over ICE plan for vast immigration detention center

Officials of Social Circle, population 5,000, file lawsuit over plan to turn warehouse into 10,000-capacity facility

Officials in the small Georgia town of Social Circle have filed a lawsuit against federal immigration agencies over plans for a huge immigration detention facility, arguing the project threatens to overburden local services and damage the environment.

The complaint, filed on Wednesday in US district court for the middle district of Georgia, accuses US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of moving ahead with the project without completing mandatory environmental assessments.