The Trump administration plans to open a new migrant holding facility adjacent to Alexandria International Airport (AEX) in Louisiana. The facility, with 528 beds, is intended to serve as a staging center where migrants await deportation flights or transfer to detention facilities.

According to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, "A staging facility is where illegal aliens await their deportation flight to their destination country or transfer to a detention facility." The proximity to the airport is expected to facilitate the housing of illegal immigrants and unaccompanied children during final flight preparations.

The facility is set to be operated by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison contractor, and could be operational as early as next month, Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark Authority, said. Records indicate the center will function as a 72-hour holding site for migrants awaiting deportation.

Data from the ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First, shows that more than 4,400 immigration enforcement flights arrived at or departed from Alexandria International Airport last year.

Separately, border czar Tom Homan refuted claims of inhumane conditions at a New Jersey ICE facility, stating that "Democratic politicians were lying" about alleged hunger strikes and mistreatment. After inspecting medical, recreation, and housing units, Homan found the facility well-maintained and even ate the same meal as detainees to verify food quality.

Sources note that migrants held in these facilities are in the legal custody of ICE and can only be released at ICE's direction. Many of those deported are reportedly volunteering to return home as family units.

Sources