England Airpark Deportation Pipeline for Children
Protections for unaccompanied children have deteriorated under the second Trump administration. Under federal law, unaccompanied children under 18, without lawful immigration status, should be placed with the Office of Refugee Resettlement for their protection and evaluation of their options to stay legally. According to a July 2026 ProPublica report, unaccompanied minors are now being detained and removed at roughly three times the rate of Trump’s first term, with immigration courts issuing over 10,000 removal or voluntary departure orders each month.
Using some of the billions of dollars for increased enforcement passed by Congress in 2025, the Trump administration is adding a new facility to hold families and unaccompanied children awaiting deportation in Alexandria. In February 2026, the local economic development board signed a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with LaSalle Corrections to lease 10 acres of public land and two existing buildings to be converted into a federal “staging center” for detention. LaSalle Corrections also operates the Winn Correctional Facility, a site with a documented track record of severe medical neglect and inhumane conditions.
While the Associated Press reports that families and children awaiting deportation will only be held for 72-hours. Advocates have their doubts. England Airpark Executive Director Ralph Hennessy has said the facility is intended for families who are “self-deporting,” that families will remain together, and that people will stay for roughly three or four days before leaving on charter flights. But ICE’s own planning documents state that the families and children will be in the “legal custody of ICE” and can only be released at ICE’s direction.
England Air Authority Bypasses Voting Procedures for New Detention Facility
An investigation by The Kingfish Project reports that while the board initially authorized the agreements in February, multiple board members state they never saw the final intergovernmental agreement.
On August 27th , Alexandria residents and immigrant rights advocates from Lafayette, New Orleans and Baton Rouge packed the England Authority Board of Commissioners meeting to oppose the detention center project. The Commission refused to address the issue; instead setting a special meeting for September 8th devoted to discussion of the facility. Five days before the promised public meeting, the England Authority cancelled the special session. No reason was given.
Meanwhile, construction is moving ahead. The federal government has committed $530,000 in taxpayer dollars to pay for the conversion of a public, military base into a private enterprise for profit for the detention and deportation of children and families. This means that at the cost of taxpayer dollars, a public, former military base is being converted into private infrastructure for the detention and deportation of children and families.
Troubling Pattern of Flight Deportations
This project is being built alongside the Alexandria Staging Facility, a major node in the national deportation system. It holds 400 adult detainees and is built directly on an airstrip tarmac so detainees can be moved straight from their barracks onto the deportation planes. Roughly 20,000 migrant detainees passed through the airport during the first 100 days of Trump’s second term in 2025. More than 3,000 immigration-enforcement flights, the most for any city, have departed from Alexandria in 2026 so far, according to ICE Flight Monitor.
These numbers tell the story of Alexandria’s role in ICE’s deportation system. Analysis of government data found that at least 855 minors have been deported from Alexandria International Airport, making it one of the largest individual airport departure points for deported children.
Fight Back
The fight is not over simply because construction has begun. You can take action and fight back beginning today.
Demand that the detention center at Alexandria be closed immediately, advocate for protections for immigrant children and families, an end to private prison profiteering with taxpayer dollars, and the dismantling of ICE’s deportation infrastructure.
Demand Accountability
Contact England Authority Commissioners and Executive Director Ralph Hennessy to demand they terminate facility contracts with LaSalle Corrections.
The next official public meeting is Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 4:00 PM at 1611 Arnold Drive, Alexandria, LA. Attend in person or tune in digitally to ensure our voices are heard.
Campaigns
Send a letter to your Congressional representative demanding and end to construction and expansion of immigration detention in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Demand that federal lawmakers restore protections and humane treatment for unaccompanied migrant children and families.