The AJC reports Charlton County approved a nearly $50 million agreement with ICE in June the expand the Folkston Processing Center from 1,100 detainees to nearly 3,000.
Three years ago, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General published the results of an unannounced inspection of the Folkston center citing unsanitary and dilapidated facilities, mold growth, water damage, lack of access to hot showers and an absence of hot meals and low staffing.
The facility was eventually cleared and the expansion allowed to move forward. The state’s other facility, the Stewart Detention Center is already the second busiest in the country.