News of plans to open an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Oakwood is amplifying fears about racial profiling among some people of color in nearby Gwinnett County.
That includes Mulberry, Georgia, resident Tracey Fisher. Fisher serves as district director for the Georgia Federation of Democratic Women. She was one of about 15 people who participated in a Wednesday afternoon press conference raising awareness about the developing ICE facility.
Social media posts from Black residents worried about ICE agents targeting them or their children have surfaced online since news broke that the agency is expanding operations in College Park.
“I think everybody is going to be fearful about being stopped by police, and if they’re stopped by ICE, that adds another layer onto the fear,” Fisher told Capital B Atlanta.
The press conference was convened by Farooq Mughal, a former Democratic Georgia lawmaker who lost his state House seat in 2024 to state Rep. Sandy Donatucci, R-Buford, by just 80 votes after Republicans redrew the district to help them maintain majority control in both legislative chambers of the General Assembly.
Mughal, who is running for reelection, noted that Gwinnett County has a large immigrant population that’s increasingly concerned about being targeted by ICE following the shooting death of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, in addition to reports of Black and brown Georgians being pulled over, detained, and in some cases deported.
Immigration officials sent former Georgia State Capitol employee Godfrey Wade back to his Jamaican homeland earlier this month for previously writing a check that bounced over 20 years ago and pleading guilty to an assault during a domestic dispute. Wade is a U.S. Army veteran who traveled to the U.S. legally as a minor with his mother in 1975, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constution.
“I fear for my family,” Mughal, a Muslim Pakistani-American, told Capital B Atlanta. “My wife works for Gwinnett County government. She fears for her safety,” he continued. “Do we all have to start carrying passports and citizenship certificates? And to be honest with you, we do because you don’t know who’s next.”
Mughal’s apprehension comes days after Oakwood city officials confirmed ICE is converting a local warehouse into a detention center. It’s one of at least two detention facilities being built in the state. Another, in Social Circle reportedly will house up to 10,000 people and is scheduled to open as soon as April.
Elected leaders in Oakwood have said they weren’t informed that an ICE facility was opening in the city until recently. In a statement, Oakwood officials said they support ICE’s mission to detain people with criminal records, but asked the federal government to halt development of the ICE facility in Oakwood due to concerns over potential safety hazards, loss of tax revenue, and economic disruption within Hall County’s sizable Hispanic population.
“Given these substantial unanswered questions, the City of Oakwood respectfully requests that ICE pause any further action on this proposed site,” the statement reads.
Mughal voiced similar concerns Wednesday, in addition to fear for the safety of local Black and brown residents.
“It is a legitimate fear for people of color,” he said.
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