Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Markwayne Mullin tells ANF a plan to house 500 detainees in a Social Circle warehouse “wasn’t a good fit” for the surrounding community.
His comment echoed what some residents and local officials said when the department canceled the plan last month. Mullin said keeping the site would have required a lengthy campaign to win community support. EARLIER STORY. PUBLISHED JUNE 18: ICE reportedly ditching plans for ICE facilities in Oakwood, Social Circle
The warehouse and another property that DHS bought in Oakwood are among as many as 11 properties nationwide that the department will offer to other federal agencies before selling.
Mullin also addressed a rise in deaths in ICE custody, linking the increase partly to a larger detainee population and to detainees arriving with health conditions. He said the death rate is less than one percent.