U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to open a 528-bed holding facility at England Airpark for migrant families and unaccompanied children awaiting deportation flights, according to the Associated Press.
The facility will be located near Alexandria International Airport, which has become a major hub for federal deportation flights. ICE has described the site as a temporary staging area, with families and children expected to remain there briefly before removal.
According to the Associated Press, the facility could open as early as August. It will be operated through the LaSalle Family Foundation, the nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private corrections company.
The project is intended to reduce the logistical challenges of transporting families and children from other shelters and facilities to deportation flights. ICE officials have said the site is not designed as a long-term detention center.
Immigration advocates have raised concerns about oversight, access to legal counsel and whether children and families could remain at the facility longer than ICE has stated. Advocates also have questioned the role of private corrections-related entities in operating a facility involving children.
Unaccompanied children are typically handled by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. The Associated Press reported that the new Alexandria-area facility represents a different arrangement connected to the final stages of the deportation process.
England Airpark is located at the former England Air Force Base in Rapides Parish. The facility would place migrant families and children close to aircraft used for removal flights.
This story is based on reporting by the Associated Press and information confirmed by England Airpark officials.