SB517: SB517 Law Enforcement Officers and Agencies; use of immigration detention centers in this state for two years; prohibit

Immigration detention centers in Georgia, including privately run facilities under contract with federal immigration authorities, currently operate without a state-level ban. This bill would add a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-1-17.1) that stops any such facility from being operated or used in the state for two years, starting July 1, 2026 and running through July 1, 2028. The bill defines a 'detainee' as a noncitizen held pending immigration proceedings or removal under the authority of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and defines an 'immigration detention center' as any facility in Georgia, public or private, that holds such detainees. The stated purpose of the pause is to give the state time to develop a longer-term plan for how these centers should be operated. The bill also repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.

• Adds a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-1-17.1) banning the operation or use of immigration detention centers in the state for two years, from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2028.
• Defines 'detainee' as a noncitizen held pending immigration proceedings or removal under federal Department of Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement authority.
• Defines 'immigration detention center' to include private facilities in Georgia under contract with the federal government, not just government-run ones.
• States the pause is meant to give the state time to develop a longer-term plan for how these centers should be run.
• Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new restriction.

The bill affects companies operating private immigration detention facilities in Georgia, the federal Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which contract for detention space in the state, and noncitizens held in those facilities pending immigration proceedings or removal.

If enacted, private and other immigration detention facilities in Georgia would have to stop holding detainees for two years starting mid-2026, likely forcing federal authorities to transfer detainees to facilities in other states and affecting companies and workers tied to those facilities' operations in Georgia.

• Section 1 adds new Code Section 35-1-17.1 to Chapter 1 of Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, covering law enforcement officers and agencies.
• Subsection (a) defines 'detainee' and 'immigration detention center,' explicitly including privately contracted facilities.
• Subsection (b) prohibits operating or using any immigration detention center in Georgia between July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2028, to allow time for a long-term plan.
• Section 2 repeals all state laws that conflict with the new restriction.

1. 2026-02-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-17Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Jaha Howard (D, SD-035)Primary sponsor
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Nabilah Islam Parkes (D, SD-007)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)

• immigration detention
• immigration enforcement
• private prisons
• state law enforcement policy