IN THE PROFESSION
Luckily, Georgia has a large and diverse immigration community. According to the American Immigration Council, one in ten residents in our state is an immigrant, and seven percent of residents were born in the U. S. and have at least one immigrant parent. 1 Per USA Facts, Georgia was home to about 1.27 million immigrants in 2023. 2 Immigrants 3“ play a key role in Georgia’ s economy,” according to the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute. 4 This does not even include the amount of multinational corporations that call Georgia home, such as Coca-Cola, Home Depot, and Delta Airlines, just to name a few. Additionally, the fact that Atlanta’ s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was the world’ s busiest airport in 2023 evidences, in part, the importance of immigration. 5
A topic that requires attention is immigration detention in the Peach State. This article provides general information about the two main immigration detention centers in our state, and an overview of the immigration courts and offices where we call home. This topic is
particularly relevant, as Georgia has the third-largest detained immigrant population in the U. S. 6 Moreover, the number of detained immigrants in Georgia rose by more than fifty percent in May 2024 from the year before. 7
As a primer, the Department of Homeland Security( DHS) was created in 2002 with the passing of the Homeland Security Act and began operating on March 1, 2003. 8 The Homeland Security Act also disbanded the Immigration and Naturalization Service( INS). 9 Subagencies within DHS include Immigration and Customs Enforcement( ICE), Customs and Border Protection( CBP), and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services( USCIS).
According to its website, ICE has three immigrant detention centers in Georgia:( 1) Stewart Detention Center( Stewart) in Lumpkin, GA,
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( 2) Folkston ICE Processing Center( Main), and( 3) Folkston ICE Processing Center( Annex). 11 ICE previously detained immigrants at the Irwin County Detention Center
1 immigrants _ in _ georgia. pdf 2 How many immigrants are in Georgia? | USAFacts 3 For this article, I use the word“ immigrant” to refer to non-citizens. Legally speaking, there is a difference between immigrants and non-immigrants. 4 Inclusive Economy for Immigrants- Georgia Budget and Policy Institute 5 ATL retains its title as the world ' s busiest airport despite shifts in international air traffic | Georgia Public Broadcasting 6 20231002-Immigration-Enforcement-Report-PDF. pdf 7 Immigrant detentions in Georgia rise by over 50 percent 8 Creation of the Department of Homeland Security | Homeland Security 9 Overview of INS History 10 Some sources refer to the facility as“ Stewart County Detention Center.” See, e. g., ICE removes MS-13 gang leader, felon wanted in El Salvador | ICE 11 Detention Facilities | ICE; the Atlanta ICE Field Office also has control over the Alamance County Detention Center in Graham, NC. However, I focus on the detention centers in Georgia for this article. in Ocilla, GA, until then-Secretary of DHS Alejandro Mayorkas ordered ICE to discontinue detaining people there“ as soon as possible” in 2021. 12
Stewart, operated by a private company now called CoreCivic, 13 opened in 2006. 14 Stewart has detained men since its inception and began to detain women again in late 2020. 15 Stewart’ s capacity is 1,966 detainees. 16 Inside of the facility is the Stewart Immigration Court, which began hearing cases in January 2010. 17 The immigration court is part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which is under the Department of Justice. 18 As of late December 2024, the Stewart Immigration Court currently has four Immigration Judges and one Assistant Chief Immigration Judge. 19 The Stewart Immigration Court also has administrative control for detained immigrants at both Folkston locations.
The Folkston ICE Processing Center( Main), located in Charlton County, was constructed in 2008 but did not begin to detain immigrants on ICE’ s behalf in 2017. 20 Folkston is close to the border between Florida— about forty-five minutes to Jacksonville, and is also near the Okefenokee Swamp Park. Similar to Stewart, Folkston ICE Processing Center( Main) is also owned and operated by a private company( The GEO Group, Inc.). 21 Some reports refer to both the Main and Annex buildings as“ Folkston.” 22 As of the 2021 Fiscal Year, the Main center’ s maximum capacity was 780 and the Annex’ s maximum capacity was 338. 23 According to a report from February 2022, however, an agreement would expand Folkston to 3,018 beds. 24
In addition to the Stewart Immigration Court, there are two immigration courts in Atlanta. 25 In a 2024 press release, Atlanta is one of five cities that, in addition to normal dockets, there will also be a“ Recent Arrivals”
12 ICE to close 2 troubled detention centers in Georgia and Massachusetts 13 The company used to be called Corrections Corporation of America but changed its name in 2016. Corrections Corporation of America Rebrands as CoreCivic. Its headquarters are in Tennessee. Id. 14 Corrections Corporation of America Announces Agreement with Stewart County, Georgia to House Detainees from U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement | CoreCivic, Inc. 15 ICE resumes holding women in Southwest Georgia detention center 16 Results of an Unannounced Inspection of ICE ' s Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia 17 Executive Office for Immigration Review 18 8 CFR § 1003.0( a). 19 Executive Office for Immigration Review | Stewart Immigration
Court Photo credit: Daniel Cole / Invision / AP 20 ICF-00010-OIDO- _ Word _ Generic _ Cover _ 2-DHS-v2
21 Id.
22 https:// www. oig. dhs. gov / sites / default / files / assets / 2022-07 / OIG- 22-47-July22. pdf 23 Id. 24 Georgia immigration facility to become one of nation ' s largest | Chattanooga Times Free Press 25 Executive Office for Immigration Review | Find an Immigration Court and Access Internet-Based Hearings; EOIR to Open New Immigration Court in Atlanta; Legal Resource Flyer- Non-Detained
18 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2024