A new ICE facility is being built in Alexandria, Louisiana, to hold migrant families and unaccompanied children before deportation. The 528-bed facility, located next to Alexandria International Airport, will operate as a 72-hour holding center.
Concerns Over Facility Operation
Immigration advocates have expressed concerns that children could be held at the facility for weeks or months, and that the facility represents a departure from how the government manages these children. The facility will be run by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison contractor.
The location of the facility was chosen to reduce logistical headaches caused by transporting children from foster homes and shelters across the country. ICE officials have instructed contractors that families at the facility cannot be referred to as prisoners, detainees, or inmates, and that they should be allowed to wear their own clothes.
Facility Details
The facility will not be required to engage in head counts, and contractors have been ordered not to use bars or cages when transporting families and unaccompanied children. The LaSalle Family Foundation, the nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, will operate the facility, with LaSalle Corrections ensuring compliance.
Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.
