The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to open a new migrant holding facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, situated next to the nation's busiest hub for deportation flights. The 528-bed facility, located near Alexandria International Airport, is intended to serve as a staging area for families and unaccompanied children awaiting removal from the United States, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has described the new facility as a staging area rather than a traditional detention center, emphasizing that migrants would typically be held there for no more than a few days. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated that the England Airpark facility is designed for illegal aliens awaiting their deportation flight to their destination country or transfer to a detention facility. The facility's proximity to the airport is expected to streamline the deportation process, allowing federal immigration officials to house individuals during final flight preparations.
The facility will be operated by the LaSalle Family Foundation, the nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison contractor with a history of operating immigration detention centers across the southern United States. LaSalle Corrections also runs the Louisiana Lockup inside the state's maximum-security prison in Angola. The company's chief financial officer, Tim Kurpiewski, confirmed that LaSalle Corrections will be involved in operating the holding facility and ensuring compliance with federal standards.
According to ICE documents, families and children at the facility will be in the legal custody of ICE and can only be released at the direction of the agency. Contractors have been instructed not to refer to families as prisoners, detainees, or inmates, and the facility will not be required to take headcounts. Families will be allowed to wear their own clothes, and contractors are prohibited from using bars or cages when transporting families and unaccompanied children.
Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark Authority, described the facility as a humanitarian effort for families who are self-deporting. He noted that the facility could become operational as early as next month, following the signing of a contract between ICE and LaSalle late last month. Hennessy emphasized that individuals at the facility are voluntarily returning home as family units.
However, immigration advocates have raised concerns about the facility's purpose and the circumstances under which families and unaccompanied children decide to leave the country. Critics argue that families may feel pressured to self-deport due to a lack of understanding of their legal options or fear of prolonged detention. The facility's location near the nation's largest hub for deportation flights has also drawn scrutiny, with data from the ICE Flight Monitor showing more than 4,400 immigration enforcement flights arriving at and departing from Alexandria International Airport last year.
The facility's operation raises questions about the handling of unaccompanied children, who are typically placed in state-licensed shelters and foster care programs run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services. However, that agency is not involved in the new facility's operation, according to airpark officials. The facility will be run by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, which has faced scrutiny in the past. Since April, two detainee deaths have been reported at a LaSalle-run ICE facility in Louisiana, and the Winn Correctional Center was found last month to have violated standards regarding environmental health and safety, food service, use of force, medical care, and other concerns, according to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General.
The Trump administration's push to accelerate deportations has been a central pillar of its immigration enforcement strategy. The new facility in Louisiana is part of a broader effort to expand detention capacity and streamline removal proceedings, particularly for families and children. Critics argue that the facility's designation as a staging area rather than a detention center may allow the administration to bypass certain legal protections and oversight requirements.
As the facility prepares to open, immigration advocates are monitoring the situation closely, warning that the lack of involvement from the Office of Refugee Resettlement could leave unaccompanied children without adequate safeguards. The facility's contractor, LaSalle Corrections, has a track record of compliance issues, raising further concerns about the treatment of migrants in its care.
The new facility represents a significant expansion of the administration's deportation infrastructure, with the potential to process hundreds of families and children each week. While officials tout the facility as a humanitarian measure for those voluntarily returning home, critics argue that it may pressure vulnerable individuals into leaving without fully understanding their rights. The coming weeks will reveal how the facility operates and whether it meets the standards set forth by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.
