SouthernWorldwide.com – The Trump administration is reportedly planning to establish a new migrant holding facility in Louisiana, strategically located near a significant deportation flight hub. This development is anticipated to streamline the deportation process for families and unaccompanied children.
According to The Associated Press, a facility equipped with 528 beds is slated to open in Alexandria, Louisiana. Its proximity to the Alexandria International Airport (AEX) is seen as a key advantage.
Federal immigration officials believe this location will simplify the process of housing undocumented immigrants and unaccompanied children while they await final flight preparations for deportation. The facility is intended to serve as a temporary “staging area,” with migrants expected to stay for a maximum of a few days, as described by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Officials at the airfield where the facility is being constructed have characterized it as a “humanitarian effort” for families who are “self-deporting.” Immigration advocates, however, suggest that families and unaccompanied children may sometimes choose to leave due to pressure or a lack of clear understanding regarding their legal options, as reported by The AP.
This new facility will be situated adjacent to what is identified as the nation’s largest hub for deportation flights. Data from the ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative by Human Rights First, indicates that over 4,400 immigration enforcement flights utilized the Alexandria International Airport in the past year.
Internal ICE documents state that families and children housed at the facility will remain under the legal custody of ICE and can only be released as directed by the agency. The agency has also instructed contractors not to refer to individuals at the facility as prisoners, detainees, or inmates.
Furthermore, contractors have been advised against using bars or cages when transporting families and unaccompanied children. The facility will not be required to conduct regular headcounts, and families will be permitted to wear their own clothing, according to agency directives.
Typically, unaccompanied children are not placed in facilities managed by ICE. Instead, they are usually transferred to state-licensed shelters and foster care programs overseen by the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services. A spokesperson for the airfield confirmed that this agency is not involved in the operation of the new facility.
The facility is expected to be operated by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison contractor. Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark Authority, indicated that the facility could be operational as early as the following month.
“These are people that are volunteering to go back home, and they’re going back home as a family unit,” Hennessy stated in his remarks to The Associated Press.
ICE reportedly signed a contract late last month to construct the facility on the grounds of the former military base near Alexandria International Airport, according to Hennessy.
Records suggest that the facility will function as a 72-hour holding center for migrants who are awaiting deportation, as detailed by The Associated Press.
LaSalle Corrections currently manages several private prisons and federal immigration detention centers across the southern United States. This includes the “Louisiana Lockup,” located within the state’s maximum-security prison in Angola.
The official contractor for the new ICE holding facility will be the company’s nonprofit entity, the LaSalle Family Foundation. However, LaSalle Corrections will be involved in the operational aspects of the holding facility and will be responsible for ensuring compliance, according to the company’s chief financial officer, Tim Kurpiewski.
Recent reports indicate that two detainee deaths have occurred at a LaSalle-run ICE facility in Louisiana since April. Additionally, the Winn Correctional Center was found last month to have violated various standards related to environmental health and safety, food service, use of force, and medical care, among other concerns, according to findings by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
