National Immigration Project attorney says the Alexandria site is a detention center and people are not free to leave
National Immigration ProjectStephanie Alvarez-Jones, Southeast regional attorney for the National Immigration Project, quoted by ABC News
Stephanie Alvarez-Jones, a regional attorney for the National Immigration Project, says the Alexandria site is a detention center and that people held there are not free to leave.
Responding to
The Alexandria facility is a detention center for families and children, and the people held there are not free to leave.
“There can be no hiding what this is, this is a detention center. People are not free to leave”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
ICE and its contractors call an Alexandria, Louisiana site for families and unaccompanied children a staging center; advocates call it child detention
ICE plans to hold families, unaccompanied children and adult women awaiting removal at a 528-bed former barracks at England Airpark in Alexandria, Louisiana. ICE and the operators call it a staging center for voluntary departures; Sen. Ron Wyden and immigrant rights groups call it child detention.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
ABC News reports that a 528-bed facility at England Airpark in Alexandria will house families with children, unaccompanied minors and single adult women awaiting removal, citing a draft agreement between ICE and the airpark's governing district that describes ICE detention in a secure environment. It quotes the operators, who call it the Alexandria Family Staging Center for people leaving voluntarily, an Anovaeon official who says staff would alert ICE if someone tried to leave, a National Immigration Project attorney, and an ICE spokesperson's statement.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
ABC News reports that at a press conference on Wednesday, immigrant rights groups and attorneys denounced the facility and raised concerns that the property was contaminated with PFAS.
After the quotation
ABC News reports that DHS, the airpark district and Anovaeon did not respond when asked about possible contamination or whether people would be restrained during their stay or removal.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is ICE's plan to hold families and unaccompanied children at the Alexandria site. The attorney says it is a detention center that people cannot leave, which condemns the plan as detention.
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More from this case
Read the full caseAnovaeon's CEO tells the airpark board the Alexandria project is not a detention center
Anovaeon
“This project right over here is not a detention center, it's a staging center for families who are voluntarily departing this country, admittedly through pretty crappy circumstances on their end.”Read statement
ICE calls the Alexandria site a staging facility for deportations
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
“A staging facility is where illegal aliens await their deportation flight to their destination country or transfer to a detention facility”Read statement
Wyden tells HHS the Alexandria facility will not serve the best interests of children in federal care
“I do not believe that the design, implementation, and operation of this Alexandria facility will properly serve the best interests of children in ORR's care”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "National Immigration Project attorney says the Alexandria site is a detention center and people are not free to leave". First published: 2026-11-04. Last updated: 2026-11-04. https://disputeindex.com/events/8104-stephanie-alvarez-jones-a-regional-attorney-for-the