The Carroll County Board of Commissioners has issued an official statement in response to public concerns that the Federal Government is considering Carroll County, Georgia as a location to house 500 unaccompanied immigrant children who have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.

West Georgia took notice of the potential facility when the Atlanta Journal Constitution posted this article July 2nd:

https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/feds-looking-house-500-immigrant-children-metro-atlanta/7Ocha8PbkrVLVUPh3tTkrJ/

The statement issued by Carroll County Government on Friday reads: “… Carroll County officials have not been contacted by any state or federal agencies, and NO application has been filed by anyone with the county. This would not be an allowed use under the County’s zoning ordinance, and an application for rezoning would be needed. This item is not up for consideration by the Board of Commissioners because there is NO application for the commission to consider.”

It is also worth noting that the feds are accepting the private property bids only through the end of this month. The Carroll County Board of Commissioners is not scheduled to meet for a regular scheduled meeting until August; and, the feds search for a private property is also extended to Dallas/Forth Worth, San Antonio, Houston and Phoenix.

Also attempting to alleviate concerns, Georgia Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan (D30, Carrollton) recently told WLBB Radio: “At the local level, if they were to convert a facility to try and win the bid, there is potential that the building permit could be denied by the applicable authority. That being said I can’t think of a place in the local area that is between the 95,742 sf and the 100,800 sf that had 300 parking places available. Additionally there are indoor classroom requirements, a minimum of two acres of surrounding property, outdoor recreational spaces, and dorm type accommodations. Because of the specificity of the requirements it seems likely that they have a space in mind that is not in Carroll.”