Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) has formally proposed to amend House Resolution (HR) 7147 to block the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from purchasing warehouses that will serve as detention centers in Social Circle and Oakwood, Georgia.
HR 7147 is an appropriations bill, but it was excluded from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026 due to a lack of support among congressional Democrats. It now faces a vote from the Senate after being passed by the House of Representatives.
Its passage is not likely, however, and Senate Republicans have had to prepare for that possibility. When commenting on the situation, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) expressed little confidence. He stated, “It doesn’t look like we’re going to stick the landing, so we’ll have to go to Plan B.”
The Amendment
Warnock’s amendment would prohibit the use of federal funds for the acquisition, construction, renovation, or expansion of ICE detention centers in Social Circle or Oakwood, Georgia.
For context, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly considering purchasing a warehouse that will serve as a detention center in Oakwood, Georgia.
This comes weeks after ICE finalized plans to purchase a 10,000-person detention center in Social Circle, Georgia, which has a population of roughly half that size. Both facilities face opposition from local elected officials and community leaders.
Sen. Warnock acknowledged that Georgians want secure borders, but he disputed the idea that they approve of the construction of more detention centers.
“If the Trump Administration focused on getting violent criminals out of the country, we would not need new detention centers straining Georgia’s rural communities,” Warnock continued. “That’s why I’m standing with the residents of Social Circle and Oakwood and fighting to BLOCK these detention facilities from towns that don’t want them.”
The Georgia Senator has made opposing ICE a mainstay issue for himself, as this amendment comes after his trip to Minneapolis. In Minneapolis, Warnock vowed to oppose funding the organization after visiting the memorial sites of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
