Bystander’s dashcam video captures ICE shooting during California traffic stop
ICE agents shot and killed a suspect “wanted for questioning in El Salvador” at a traffic stop in California.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election in a high-profile race in Georgia this year, joined four other senators in sponsoring a new bill that would limit what the Department of Homeland Security can do with new ICE facilities.
The Respect for Communities Act was introduced in the Senate by Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, and Ossoff.
Georgia was to have an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Oakwood, as well as one of eight planned “megacenters” in the country to hold up to 10,000 people in social circles. Both projects have faced outrage from the community, with officials in both regions of the state saying they have had little or no contact with DHS, despite relying heavily on the infrastructure.
The program is currently on pause as new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin reviews the policies and programs of her predecessor, Kristi Noem, who was ousted from the job after a controversial Congressional Oversight Hearing.
What is the Community Respect Act?
S.3894, the Respect for Communities Act, would require towns and cities to be included in decisions to purchase land and develop new properties for ICE operations, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security.
The bill would “prohibit[DHS]from constructing, acquiring, or operating a new treatment plant or detention center without providing a mechanism for public comment regarding such activity, entering into a signed written agreement with appropriate state and local officials, and providing prior notice to Congress of such activity.”
Communities will have 30 days for public comment, and the federal government will be required to provide information regarding the “scope of construction, acquisition, renovation, and operation” of the facility.
City officials from Oakwood and Social Circle say this is the kind of information local communities want from DHS right now, and where they are being held back.
Ossoff is supported by local leaders in Georgia.
“For months, the Social Circle community has unequivocally opposed the current administration’s proposed ICE detention facility, and local leaders have warned of the risk that the facility would overwhelm the city’s infrastructure,” Ossoff said in a statement. “But despite clear local opposition, this administration’s plans and intentions have been shrouded in secrecy with no local input. This bill would require the federal government to obtain local consent before building such facilities.”
The bill does not prevent new facilities from being built, but it does limit where they can be built by requiring local support.
“Our community remains strongly opposed to ICE’s proposed detention facilities, which threaten to overwhelm our infrastructure and more than triple our population. ICE and DHS’s failure to communicate with us about these plans has further exacerbated the situation and caused months of chaos,” the statement said. “We are grateful to Senator Ossoff for his continued opposition to this project and support for this federal legislation that ensures our communities have a voice in this process and cannot be ignored.”
Ossoff’s fellow Georgia state senator, Raphael Warnock, visited social circles earlier this year and echoed what city officials were sharing in town. He also sought to close the center through amendments to the federal funding bill.
In late March, Mr. Ossoff and Mr. Warnock jointly signed a letter to Mr. Mullin and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, demanding answers to questions about infrastructure raised by social circle officials. The deadline for responses was April 7, but senators have not said whether they have received a response.
Eileen Wright is an Atlanta Connect reporter on USA TODAY’s Deep South Connect team, following developments in Georgia’s ICE facilities. X Find her at @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
