The Trump administration is gearing up to establish a 528-bed holding facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, aimed at housing migrant families and unaccompanied minors awaiting deportation, as revealed by an Associated Press investigation.
Set to be constructed on a former military base adjacent to the Alexandria International Airport, this facility will enhance the location's current role as the nation's largest deportation flight hub, which recorded over 4,400 immigration enforcement flights in 2025.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency finalized the contract for the development of the center in late June, with potential operational readiness as early as August, according to Ralph Hennessy, the CEO of the England Airpark Authority.
ICE is referring to the facility as a "staging area" instead of a detention center, asserting that migrants will stay there for a maximum of 72 hours before their deportation flights.
However, ICE's own planning documents contradict this softened terminology: families and children housed there "are under the legal custody of ICE and can only be released by ICE order."
Hennessy described the initiative as a "humanitarian effort" for families who "voluntarily self-deport," stating, "These are individuals choosing to return home of their own accord, doing so as a family unit."
The facility aims to address logistical challenges ICE has faced when attempting to deport children scattered across foster homes and shelters nationwide.
These issues were highlighted over Labor Day weekend in 2025, when dozens of Guatemalan children were removed from their shelters at dawn and transported to airports in Texas, where they waited for hours on the runway. A federal judge intervened to halt those deportations.
The LaSalle Family Foundation, the nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections—a private prison operator headquartered in Louisiana—will manage the facility. LaSalle already runs other ICE detention centers in the southern U.S., including the "Louisiana Lockup" within the Angola maximum-security prison.
Concerns about LaSalle's involvement have been raised: two detainees died in its Winn Correctional Center between April and June this year, and the same center was found in violation of health, food, force, and medical care standards by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General in June.
The company initially chosen to operate the facility, Compass Connections, withdrew from the project without explanation, as confirmed by its president, Sonya Thompson, to the AP.
Immigrant advocates caution that the new center may violate federal law, which mandates placing unaccompanied children under the supervision of the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services, an agency not involved in the Alexandria facility.
ICE has instructed contractors not to refer to families as prisoners, detainees, or inmates, and prohibits the use of bars or cages during transportation.
The center will not be required to conduct headcounts and will allow migrants to wear their personal clothing.
For groups advocating for the rights of migrant children, these superficial measures fail to disguise the true nature of the project.
"This is an expansion of the deportation system on a scale we haven't seen before," stated Leecia Welch, legal director of Children's Rights. "There are too many things that could go wrong with this facility."
Key Concerns About the New ICE Facility in Louisiana
What is the purpose of the new ICE facility in Alexandria, Louisiana?
The facility is intended to hold migrant families and unaccompanied minors awaiting deportation for up to 72 hours before their deportation flights.
Who will manage the new detention center?
The LaSalle Family Foundation, associated with LaSalle Corrections, will operate the facility. LaSalle Corrections is a private prison company based in Louisiana.
Why are immigrant advocates concerned about the facility?
Advocates believe the facility may violate federal law concerning the placement of unaccompanied children and are wary of the implications of expanding the deportation system.
What were the issues with LaSalle Corrections' previous facilities?
LaSalle Corrections has faced criticism due to deaths in custody and violations of health, food, force, and medical care standards at its facilities.