Full Breakdown
New ICE Holding Facility Near Alexandria Airport Aims to Accelerate Family Deportations
7/6/2026, 6:43:11 AM
New ICE Holding Facility Near Alexandria Airport
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans a 528-bed holding center for migrant families and unaccompanied children next to Alexandria International Airport in Alexandria, Louisiana. A June contract gives the LaSalle Family Foundation— the nonprofit arm of private-prison operator LaSalle Corrections— operational control, with opening slated for August. ICE calls the site a “staging area” for stays of up to 72 hours.
Logistical Rationale and Flight Volume
The center addresses a 2024 incident where Guatemalan children were awakened at night, rushed to Harlingen, Texas, and left waiting on a tarmac before a judge halted their removal. Alexandria International Airport logged over 4,400 immigration-enforcement flights in 2025, per the ICE Flight Monitor compiled by Human Rights First, making the location logistically advantageous.
Key Stakeholders
Key participants are ICE; LaSalle Corrections and its LaSalle Family Foundation, which will run operations; England Airpark Authority executive Ralph Hennessy; Compass Connections, a Texas nonprofit that withdrew after president Sonya Thompson’s announcement; and Children’s Rights, led by chief legal counsel Leecia Welch.
Facility Capacity and Operational Limits
The center offers 528 beds and a 72-hour maximum hold. ICE bans cages, forbids labeling residents as prisoners, waives headcounts, and permits families to wear their own clothing.
Official Statements & Operational Guidelines
ICE calls the site a staging area, emphasizing stays of only a few days. Agency documents state families “are in the legal custody of ICE and can only be released at ICE’s direction.” LaSalle Corrections will ensure compliance; the Office of Refugee Resettlement is excluded.
Advocacy Criticism
Advocates warn the staging area could become a de-facto detention site where children stay weeks or months. Children’s Rights’ Leecia Welch said the model “represents a departure from how the government manages those children.” Critics note two detainee deaths since April and a June safety-violation report at LaSalle-run Winn Correctional Center.
Discrepancies and Oversight Gaps
- Stay duration: ICE caps at 72 hours, yet advocates note prior extended detentions.
- Headcount: Facility will not conduct headcounts, unlike standard practice.
- Agency role: Office of Refugee Resettlement, normally handling unaccompanied children, is excluded.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It’s an expansion of the deportation system in ways we haven’t seen before,” — Leecia Welch, chief legal counsel, Children’s Rights
- “These are people that are volunteering to go back home and they’re going back home as a family unit,” — Ralph Hennessy, executive director, England Airpark Authority
- “ The agency has instructed contractors that families at the facility cannot be referred to as prisoners, detainees or inmates, records show.” — ICE directive
- “The facility will not be required to engage in headcounts and should allow families to “wear their own clothes,” the agency added.” — ICE directive
Upcoming Timeline
The LaSalle Family Foundation aims to begin operations in August. ICE has not announced a formal oversight schedule, and advocacy groups plan to monitor compliance with the 72-hour limit.
