Alexandria ICE Facility: A New Staging Center Nears Completion

A new facility designed to hold families, unaccompanied minors, and single adult women is nearing completion at England Airpark in Alexandria, Louisiana. This 528-bed center, referred to as the Alexandria Family Staging Center, is intended to serve as a temporary holding area for individuals awaiting deportation or transfer to other facilities. While local officials anticipate an opening within weeks, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not yet announced a specific date. The facility’s development raises questions about its role in the federal shelter system and potential impacts on the individuals it will house.

Alexandria Family Staging Center Details

The Alexandria Family Staging Center is located in renovated former Air Force barracks near Alexandria International Airport. The project is reportedly about 95% complete, with some local representatives suggesting it could begin receiving individuals in the next one to two weeks. The facility is being operated by the LaSalle Family Foundation, with Anovaeon managing daily operations. It is designed to accommodate a range of individuals, including families with children, unaccompanied minors, and single adult women.

The stated purpose of the center is to act as a “staging facility for deportations,” where individuals are held before departing the country or moving to another detention location. Anovaeon CEO Eric Fritz described it as a staging center for families who are voluntarily departing, acknowledging the difficult circumstances that lead to these departures. The average expected stay for individuals at the center is under 48 hours, though planning documents indicate that families and children could remain for up to 72 hours before flights depart from the nearby airport.

Impact on Child Welfare Systems

A significant concern surrounding the Alexandria Family Staging Center is its potential to house unaccompanied minors outside the established federal shelter system. Typically, children arriving without a parent are placed under the care of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. This new facility, however, would allow these children to be held in ICE custody before deportation or transfer.

Advocacy groups have pointed out that this arrangement could bypass the child-protection processes usually associated with the refugee-resettlement system. While ICE emphasizes the temporary nature of the center, its proposed use would place vulnerable children within a different federal custody framework. This facility is noted as the first of its kind built under the current administration specifically for detaining and deporting unaccompanied children.

Expanded ICE Operations at England Airpark

The England Airpark board approved the project in February 2026, with a five-year contract in place for the conversion of the former barracks. This new center will significantly expand ICE’s presence at the airport. Currently, ICE operates a separate 400-bed facility on the airport tarmac for adult men facing deportation. The addition of the 528-bed Alexandria Family Staging Center will more than double the total number of immigrants that can be held on airport property.

This expansion represents a notable increase in ICE’s detention capacity in the area, serving a different demographic than the existing facility. The new center’s focus on families, women, and children traveling alone highlights a shift in the types of individuals being housed at England Airpark.

Environmental and Community Concerns

The development of the Alexandria Family Staging Center has also drawn attention from environmental and human rights organizations. Amnesty International has raised concerns about the facility being located on a site with reported high levels of contamination, citing levels far exceeding recommended limits. Local activists and faith leaders organized a vigil and march at the site in early October 2026 to protest the facility’s impending opening. These protests occurred as the project neared completion and local officials discussed its imminent operational status.

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