For months, two neighbours, Democrat Gareth Fenley and conservative John Miller, have been united in the same daily mission.

Each morning the two get into their cars and drive several miles down the farm‑lined roads of their small Georgia town to an empty one‑million‑square‑foot gray warehouse.

On arrival, the two search meticulously for signs of construction, breathing a sigh of relief each time the massive property appears untouched.

The sprawling industrial warehouse, which the US Department of Homeland Security bought in February, is part of a $38.3 billion (£29 billion) plan to open dozens of immigration detention centres across the United States.

Those plans have faced fierce opposition, not just in Democratic communities, but in conservative towns like Social Circle, which overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in the last election – including his campaign promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

"People have different reasons for aligning with the exact same message," Gareth Fenley said. "That message is: 'Detention centre, not welcome here.'"

Many who support the president's immigration policies are concerned the ICE facility would starve Social Circle of critical resources by tripling its population, turning a place once known for its quaint Blue Willow Inn buffet restaurant into a prison town.

In March, those concerns led City Manager Eric Taylor to shut off the water in the warehouse, a move that made this one‑stoplight town the unlikely face of resistance to the administration's plans.

"If you open up that water meter, it gives them full access to the entire supply of the whole city," City Manager Eric Taylor told the Georgia Radio and Television news outlet (GREE). "I can't let that happen without knowing what the ultimate impact is going to be."

Now the plans for a 10,000‑person detention centre appear to be on hold.

The US Department of Homeland Security also signalled that it is pausing plans to buy more warehouses like the one in Social Circle – though the fate of facilities it already has spent millions on remains unclear. The US Department of Homeland Security did not directly respond to a comment from the GREE about Social Circle's facility.

"As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals," a statement from the US Department of Homeland Security said.

The US Department of Homeland Security cancelled a scheduled meeting about the Social Circle warehouse because it was planning a "department review of processes" under new leadership, City Manager Eric Taylor said.

Residents are cautiously optimistic.

"We're anxious to see what happens out of this review. They have already pulled the trigger on it. They have already bought the building, so there's going to be some effects no matter what's done or not done," John Miller said.

"We're still whispering up the chain as much as we can to make sure that if they are indeed reviewing it, we can give input," John Miller added.

"We don't have the capacity"

In the centre of Social Circle is a replica of a well, a nod to the origins of the town, which was established in 1832. According to a plaque, a group of men sitting around a well enjoying "their usual drink" invited a passing stranger to join them. "This is surely a social circle," the stranger replied.

Nearly two centuries later, Social Circle's wells are at the heart of residents' fight against the ICE facility. They say the town's water system – which serves 5,000 people – has had problems for decades, and the ICE facility would require much more than the fragile system could provide.

City Manager Eric Taylor said Social Circle has a permit to pull only one million gallons of water each day from the Alcovy River, south of Social Circle, and during the summer the town uses about 800,000 gallons at least. The ICE facility on its own will require one million gallons a day.

City Manager Eric Taylor told the US Department of Homeland Security as soon as an application for water service was filed that City Manager Eric Taylor was not going to turn it on, City Manager Eric Taylor said.

"I told them at that time that there was a lock on the water meter, and it was there until we had a better understanding of what the impact was going to be on our water," City Manager Eric Taylor explained.

John Miller, whose 50‑acre grassy horse farm sits just across the road from the Social Circle warehouse, said officials had not done due diligence on selected locations.

"It's the same story over and over," John Miller said. "Communities weren't informed. They weren't consulted."

"I understand the why, but I just don't understand how they're handling it," John Miller added.

John Miller said federal officials have floated several solutions, including either digging a well on the warehouse property or trucking in a million gallons of water a day.

But the father of seven said drilling new wells could take away from the well he uses to nourish his horses, chickens, barn cats and dogs.

Bringing in gallons of water on Social Circle's two‑lane roads poses problems too. "That's six or seven trucks every hour, 24 hours a day," John Miller said.

The US Department of Homeland Security did not directly respond to a list of questions from the GREE inquiring about how it would address the water supply.

City Manager Eric Taylor also worries about the town's old sewage systems, established in 1962 and in need of replacement for 20 years, City Manager Eric Taylor said.

"Where's the sewage supposed to go?" City Manager Eric Taylor asked. "We don't have the capacity to support a million gallons of sewer coming off that site."

A country‑wide fight against ICE plans

Residents in Social Circle have been waging their battle against the ICE facility ever since they found out, in a Washington Post report last December, that the warehouse was one of 23 sites earmarked to become detention centres.

They quickly appealed to the government and their federal representatives, arguing they did not have resources for the facility – but the US Department of Homeland Security still purchased it in February for nearly $130 million – more than four times its initial estimated worth.

Since then, John Miller, Gareth Fenley and others have led the charge to slow the project, holding protests and meetings with hundreds of concerned residents. Georgia's Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock visited the facility, and Senator Raphael Warnock's office participated in a briefing with ICE officials, but "many questions remain unanswered", a spokesperson said.

Other communities that have been tapped for similar projects have also fought back.

In Michigan last week, the state sued to block the US Department of Homeland Security from converting a warehouse into an ICE facility in Romulus, arguing it was too close to residential neighbourhoods and schools and posed a flooding risk. New Jersey and Maryland also sued to halt ICE projects, while residents in Merrimack, New Hampshire, successfully lobbied elected officials to stop a facility in town.

For some Social Circle residents, their opposition is not only a question of resources, but of human rights.

Gareth Fenley said she and other Democrats in town were concerned about having people "warehoused in a place that was not built for human habitation".

She worries about reports of people being abused in detention centres. At least 13 immigrants died in ICE custody from January 2026 through early March, according to ICE, while civil‑rights groups have said immigrants are being subjected to unsafe conditions such as a lack of food, overcrowding and medical neglect.

Others raised alarms not only for those inside the facility, but the community around it.

"We have one high school, one zip code, one grocery store, one stoplight. And we are going to triple the size of our town," Valerie Walthart, who works on a veterinary farm down the road from John Miller, said. "We're going to be overwhelmed."

Walthart added that as a mother, she was concerned about safety, with a detention facility perched just a five‑minute drive from the local elementary school.

"It's unnerving," Joy Coker, a mother of three in the area, said of the warehouse's location.

"Georgia's greatest little detention centre"

Social Circle's Republican Representative Mike Collins also publicly opposed the ICE project.

"Although I am aligned with the mission of ICE to detain and deport the criminal illegal aliens who have flooded across our border due to Joe Biden's reckless policies, I agree with the community that Social Circle does not have the sufficient resources that this facility would require," Representative Mike Collins wrote.

Rick Cook, a resident of neighbouring Monroe, said he wasn't in favour of the facility, but believed the United States had to clamp down on illegal immigration. He said he and others in his Social Circle church hoped to provide religious counseling to immigrants held in the facility.

"It's going to be what it's going to be, and we're going to try to find the ways to make the best with whatever happens," Rick Cook said.

To Steven Williford, the owner of a cattle farm in Social Circle who voted for Donald Trump, the ICE facility is a "necessary evil". But he couldn't believe the news when he learned the detention centre was coming to his hometown.

"I just thought it was crazy to put something like that in this community, with no forethought, no prior authorisation, not even asking the community," Steven Williford said.

"I'm all for doing what's best for the country, but is it best for this community?" Steven Williford added. "That's the question."

John Miller said he understood why some would be confused by the Republican town's reaction. He said detention facilities were necessary to detain people so they could be guaranteed due process.

"You can't say that it's something that's needed and then not be somewhat willing to allow a facility to be there," John Miller said.

But, he said, realistically, no community wants such a facility tarnishing the reputation of their town.

"I miss the days we were known for the Blue Willow Inn," John Miller said, referencing the famous buffet restaurant that closed during Covid, once visited by celebrities including actress Helen Mirren.

"Now," John Miller said, "we're going to be known as Georgia's greatest little detention centre."

Some residents had been hoping that a change in federal leadership would put the warehouse plans on pause. Donald Trump fired his Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem at the beginning of March, after backlash for the administration's immigration crackdown in Minneapolis earlier this year, when federal agents shot dead two United States citizens.

The president nominated Senator Markwayne Mullin to take her place, which was followed by the US Department of Homeland Security signalling it may be rethinking its plans.

In its statement to the GREE, the US Department of Homeland Security referenced remarks from Senator Markwayne Mullin's confirmation hearing:

"We got to protect the homeland and we're going to do that, but obviously we want to work with community leaders," Senator Markwayne Mullin said in March. "We want to be good partners."

Social Circle's facility was originally slated to open in April, but work appears to have stalled. The US Department of Homeland Security has yet to award a contract for the warehouse or begin the massive construction needed to convert the bare warehouse into a sprawling court facility, complete with holding areas, gyms and recreational spaces, court facilities, cafeterias and even a gun range.

Residents have been thrilled about the potential pause, including Valerie Walthart, who said the decision gives locals "a little time to breathe, since we wake up nearly every day wondering if today will be the day the trucks start rolling in".

"We can enjoy our small town life," Valerie Walthart said, "for at least a little while longer, we hope."