A 528-bed Migrant Family Center Is Coming to Alexandria Louisiana

Louisiana will soon have a new role in the battle over the border. The Trump administration is planning to open a 528-bed holding center for migrant families and unaccompanied children. This complex is going to open up next to an airfield in central Louisiana that has become the nation’s largest hub of deportation flights.

Where Will This Complex Be Built

ICE officials have signed a contract to build this facility at a former military base in Alexandria. Ralph Hennessy is executive director of the England Airpark Authority and he says ICE officials have told him this will not be a detention center but rather, a “staging facility.”

The goal of this complex is to speed up deportations. ICE officials say people will only be housed at this complex for a few days, at most.

What Do Critics of the Complex Say

Immigration advocates are worried this new facility will be used to house children for weeks or months. They are also concerned about who will be responsible for these children and what will be the oversight procedure.

“It’s an expansion of the deportation system in ways we haven’t seen before,” said Leecia Welch, chief legal counsel at the nonprofit Children’s Rights. “There’s just so much that could go wrong with this facility.”

This facility will be run by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison contractor, according to Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark Authority. He said it could be operational as early as August.