When ICE offers job opportunities in small towns

0:00The main obstacles to President Trump's mass deportation effort haven't been legal or political. They've been logistical. Limits created by a lack of available detention beds or immigration agents to make arrests. That's why Republicans included a huge increase in immigration enforcement funding in their tax and spending bill this summer. So this bill will also be the single most important piece of border legislation ever to cross the floor of Congress. We will hire 3 ,000 new Border Patrol officers and 10 ,000 new ICE agents. Now that is a lot of people to recruit and vet and onboard. And NPR immigration reporter Jimena Bustillo recently went to see how it's going.

0:40at a career expo for the Department of Homeland Security last month in Provo, Utah, where a lot of folks were applying for one job in particular. A deportation officer with ICE. ICE deportation officer. I don't think I'd qualify for a whole lot else. A deportation officer. When you think about the role of deportation officer, what do you hope you get to do in that position? Uh, deport, you know. Johnny from Oregon, Josh from Idaho, and Peter from Arkansas each asked NPR not to use their last names because of fear of reprisal from the agency. They were undeterred by the small group of protesters shouting outside.

1:20Many applicants told Ximena that they supported Trump and his goal of mass deportations of people in the U.S. without legal status. Or at least they weren't conflicted about the role of ICE. Here's veteran Alan Richardson. If your employer says you got to do something, you got to go do it. But, you know, I think going after the criminals is the goal here. There's no way you're going to deport however many millions of people that are here illegally. Mayan Beaumont, though, wasn't certain it was the right fit. She applied to work for ICE because it recently lowered the age requirements from 21 to 18.

1:57I'm going to be so honest, I don't see myself in ICE. It was more of just a job opportunity. But I see more of myself as like police officer, Border Patrol, maybe something that's not as aggressive, I guess, as ICE. There is another big chunk of deportation-related money in that Republican spending bill. $45 billion for new immigrant detention centers. Consider this. A small town in Georgia will soon host the largest ICE detention facility in the U.S. that is raising hopes and fears about the future. This is a huge business. Is it right? It's not for me to decide.

2:41From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang.

2:51It's Consider This from NPR. Folkston, Georgia, is a small rural town with a population of about 2 ,800 people that will soon see its population balloon as immigrant detainees fill up a growing ICE detention center at the edge of town. An old prison is now expanding to house detainees as part of President Trump's ongoing effort to deport undocumented immigrants. NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran went to see how people in Folkston are feeling about it. Luke Harris and his friend Mardon Rimes are cooling off in the shade of a train viewing platform. Trains are big here. Depending who you ask, 60 to 120 trains go through Folkestone every day.

3:32Besides that, there's not much going on. Downtown has a couple of restaurants, but during the day, most of them are closed. And Harris says he sees a lot less unemployed people hanging out at McDonald's than he used to, partly because the ICE detention center has put in so many new jobs. I got a couple friends that work out there. I see them with the uniform on all the time. At the prison? Hold on. I got a nephew that work over there. He's a guard. These are high-paying jobs with benefits, a big deal for a struggling town that Harris describes this way. Don't blink. You'll miss it. Folkestone?

4:08Maybe. But not the immigration processing center. This is the largest ICE processing facility in the United States. right here. At least it will be when it reaches capacity. That's Glen Hall, the county administrator. We're standing on a dirt road on the side of the detention center. This is the closest we can get to it since ICE denied NPR's request for a tour. A grassy field surrounds this area. It's at least three city blocks. Shiny barbed wire surrounds the whole facility. A large water tower sits in the middle with GEO in giant letters, the name of the private corporation that contracts with DHS and ICE to run this place.

4:48Hall drives us past a parking lot full of employee cars. Obviously, you can see the economic development that it has here, the impact that it has on our community with all those jobs and potentially more. Nearly 200 jobs so far and$260 ,000 to the county and more than$600 ,000 to the city of Folkestone. GeoGroup's contract with the federal government for the expansion of this site is of about$96 million over two years. County Administrator Hall says GeoGroup has been a great partner in the community, providing scholarships and sponsoring community events for a town where more than a third of the people live below the poverty line.

5:26I hate to say it, but if it's not here, it's somewhere else. So you take advantage of the stuff that you have on your table. And I hate to simplify that because these are people's lives and families. But that's the reality of it. That's the reality in this town, where the detention center and a landfill are the biggest employers. This is a huge business. Is it right? It's not for me to decide. But yeah, there is definitely a human element to this that touches my soul. Recently, hundreds of South Korean workers detained here after a raid at a Georgia Hyundai battery factory described freezing temperatures, moldy mattresses, and a foul-smelling drinking water, as well as racist gestures from guards.

6:10ICE and Geo Group did not respond to questions related to the allegations or about details of the facility's expansion. As we drive by the side of the detention center, detainees wearing orange jumpsuits get close to the fence and start shouting at us. Help! They ain't treating us good out here! Help! They ain't treating us good out here! Detainees yell at us. If I was detained behind barbed wire like that, I would be yelling help to somebody coming down a dirt road. No doubt. I mean, that's the humanity side of this, right? Most folks don't think of it as a moral issue here. That's 24-year-old Savannah Pollock, a medical student and one of the few local residents speaking out against the detention center.

6:53She was born and raised in Folkestone. Her grandfather is a preacher at a Baptist church. A family member also serves on the county board. When you're in a poverty level, we're just thinking about how can I get money in my pocket. And that's where they bring up this, you know, we just don't have jobs conversation. But I say that this is just something you don't want to build your future upon, something that changes every four years. That's because the operation of this detention center is dependent on the political winds and things can quickly change. And that whiplash is something this county has experienced in the past.

7:26A hospital that was a major employer suddenly closed, leading to unemployment, a healthcare desert, and a blighted building. The same happened with lumber mills and titanium mines. Even the detention center was once a state prison that also closed, leaving more than 300 locals out of work. But Administrator Hall is optimistic that having ICE here might give them leverage. I won't put it in the words of quid pro quo, but we are supporting a major federal policy with this administration. And we need a hospital. No matter what other, you know, fun community services GEO Group might someday provide, ultimately, they're going to prioritize what makes them money.

8:10Immigration attorney Samantha Hamilton is with the group Shut Down Folkestone Ice Processing Center. And what makes them money is locking people up. Hamilton has represented detainees in Folkestone. It is endemic to this capitalist system that holds these rural communities hostage to make them feel like there is nothing else that they can do but accept this gift, quote unquote, that is presented to them. I don't want to be known for that because our reputation ain't that. That's resident Savannah Pollock again. She says she loves her town and does not want its reputation tarnished. You know, we're folks who travel across the state to go see you play football.

8:52You know, I got folks still cheering me on to go to medical schools. That's who these people are. And if they could, they would ride and die for this town if they had the pocket to do it. I don't think that's who we are. The ICE Center ain't. And I hate that they're taking advantage of us and making us look as if that's us. But whether it's in Folkestone or elsewhere, expanding or creating detention centers is key in President Trump's goal of deporting millions of undocumented immigrants, an unprecedented agenda that his administration says has already resulted in more than 400 ,000 deportations.

9:29That was NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran in Folkestone, Georgia. This episode was produced by Liz Baker, Elena Burnett, and Connor Donovan, with audio engineering by Hannah Glovna. It was edited by Eric Westervelt and Justine Kennan. Our executive producer is Sammy Yennekin.

9:51It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Elsa Chang. Want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon Prime members can listen to Consider This sponsor-free through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get Consider This Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.