(The Center Square) – A middle Tennessee mayor said Friday he is a conservative Republican, but he does not want a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility coming to his town.
The Department of Homeland Security is looking at property in Lebanon, Mayor Rick Bell said. The department had not spoken with the city’s utilities or engineering departments, he said.
“As a conservative Republican, I believe we should have a secure border,” Bell said in the post. “However, other than the Wilson County Jail, Lebanon, Tennessee is not the place for any type of correctional facility – ICE or otherwise.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn agrees with him, Bell said.
“This morning, I spoke with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn,” Bell said. “She is working with us along with leaders of the Department of Homeland Security to rectify this situation. She too believes that the city of Lebanon is not the right location for this facility.”
Blackburn’s office told The Center Square in an email: “Senator Blackburn supports the incredible work ICE is doing in Tennessee to apprehend, detain, and deport criminal illegal aliens, and she is working closely with local and state leaders as well as ICE to ensure the agency can find a proper placement for a new detention facility.”
Lebanon is not the first Tennessee city where residents pushed back against a new ICE detention center.
Residents of Mason, a town of about 1,200 located 30 minutes from Memphis, protested the opening of an ICE facility there in August. Mason Mayor Eddie Noeman pitched the deal with ICE as a way to generate revenue for the city. The West Tennessee Detention Facility is overseen by private prison contractor CoreCivic.
Two Georgia towns are also pushing back at two ICE detention centers.
The Department of Homeland Security is planning for two detention centers in the Georgia towns of Social Circle and Oakwood.
Social Circle, a town of about 5,000 people east of Atlanta, could see a facility that would house up to 10,000 detainees. Oakwood is just outside the Hall County seat of Gainesville.
Social Circle officials shared plans for the ICE facility there on Wednesday but reiterated their opposition.
“To be clear, the City has repeatedly communicated that it does not have the capacity or resources to accommodate this demand, and no proposal presented to date has demonstrated otherwise,” city officials said in an update. “The Department of Homeland Security has stated that an economic impact study has been conducted in connection with this proposed facility; however, City officials have not received a copy of that study and are awaiting the opportunity to review the analysis.”
Plans for the Oakwood facility are still moving forward, according to U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga. He said Wednesday that the Oakwood facility would house 1,400 to 1,600 detainees. The facility would add 429 jobs and contribute $13.9 million in state, local and federal tax revenue, according to Clyde.
“Based on ICE’s economic impact analysis, track record, and unwavering commitment to protecting the American people, I am confident that the Oakwood ICE facility will be a safe and prosperous addition to the Ninth District,” Clyde said.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., an opponent of funding ICE, filed an amendment to the continuing resolution that would block both detention facilities.