The Trump administration plans to open up a new migrant holding facility next to an airport hub in Louisiana, potentially allowing the federal government to speed up deportations of families and unaccompanied children.A holding facility with 528 beds is set to open in Alexandria, Louisiana near the Alexandria International Airport (AEX), according to The Associated Press. The proximity to the airport is believed to make it easier for federal immigration officials to house illegal immigrants and unaccompanied children during final flight preparations, the outlet reported.Immigration and Customs Enforcement is describing the new Louisiana facility as a "staging area" and not a detention center, saying migrants would only be held there for a few days at most.NEW YORKER SUING ICE AFTER OFFICERS WENT TO HIS HOME TO WARN HIM OVER CRITICISM OF AGENCYFILE - The Trump administration plans to open up a new migrant holding facility next to an airport hub in Louisiana.(John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)"England Airpark is a staging facility for deportations.
A staging facility is where illegal aliens await their deportation flight to their destination country or transfer to a detention facility," a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Fox News Digital.Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, which deferred to DHS.Airpark officials at the airfield where the structure is being built said the facility is a "humanitarian effort" for families who are "self-deporting," but immigration advocates say families and unaccompanied children sometimes decide to leave due to pressure or a lack of an understanding of their options, The AP reported.The facility would be stationed next to the nation's largest hub for deportations.More than 4,400 immigration enforcement flights came to and from the Alexandria International Airport last year, according to data from the ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First.ICE docu...