South Georgia officials greenlight creation of nation’s largest ICE jail

Combined with the Stewart Detention Center, currently the country’s second busiest ICE jail which is also located in South Georgia, Folkston’s expansion could cement the region’s role as a hub for immigration detention, and as an important player in the Trump administration’s plans to grow the deportation pipeline.

Not everyone is happy with the vote.

“Expanding ICE detention capacity is part of President Trump’s racist mass deportation agenda that would separate families and tear Georgia communities apart,” said Meredyth Yoon, an immigrants’ rights advocate who is working with a campaign to shut down the Folkston detention center.

Charlton County commissioners gave their backing to the Folkston expansion plan at a Thursday meeting, which was attended by Amber Martin, a vice president at The GEO Group, the private corrections company that operates the Folkston facility.

The timeline of Folkston’s expansion is not clear.

On Wednesday, Hull said he received a call from an ICE official informing him that the agency would need time to move forward with the expansion plan.

According to reporting from The Washington Post, the delay is because of a federal policy that requires all Department of Homeland Security contracts worth more than $20 million to be reviewed by DOGE, which stands for the Department of Government Efficiency. The federal government’s revised contract with Charlton County has a price tag of nearly $50 million, an agenda item posted on the county’s website shows.

The Thursday vote taken by commissioners unanimously authorized Hull to execute the expansion plan once the county’s revised federal contract clears DOGE review.

“There is still anticipation that it will go through eventually,” Hull said.

Once ICE is cleared to execute the new agreement, The GEO Group would only need a short time before ramping up capacity at Folkston. The expansion would be “fully operational” in 90 days, Hull said.

“It’s quick,” he added.

Neither The GEO Group nor ICE returned requests for comment from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hull said that expanding Folkston would represent a boon for the local economy and create 400 jobs.

“For Charlton County, this is one of the few economic development initiatives we have available to us. We’re very limited,” he said. “The vast majority of our land, like 90% of it is either timber or swamp … This is rural America at its best.”

Folkston made news last year when an Indian national, Jaspal Singh, died in custody.

In 2022, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General published the results of a 2021 unannounced inspection of the Folkston detention center.

The OIG report said inspectors found “unsanitary and dilapidated” facilities, with torn mattresses, water leaks and standing water, mold growth and water damage, rundown showers, mold and debris in the ventilation system, insect infestations, lack of access to hot showers, inoperable toilets, and an absence of hot meals.

Facility medical staff did not provide timely access to specialty care or adequate mental health care for detainees, and overall staffing levels did not meet ICE requirements, the report found.

“Folkston did not meet standards for facility conditions, medical care, grievances, segregation, staff-detainee communications, and handling of detainee property,” the report said. “We identified violations that compromised the health, safety, and rights of detainees”