The proposed expansion aims to establish a short-term facility designed to process migrant families and unaccompanied children. The site, located near one of the airport’s runways, has become an important hub in the White House’s deportation system. Lease agreements between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the airport authorities are reportedly close to completion, with the facility expected to become operational within 60 to 90 days.
Officials say the center will operate as a humanitarian processing site for migrants who have chosen to leave the United States voluntarily. According to the nonprofit group Compass Connections, the facility would offer “wrap-around services” to assist migrants during their final days in the country before departure.
Compass Connections Executive Director Ralph Hennessy rejected reports suggesting poor conditions at the planned site, describing such claims as inaccurate in comments reported by The Guardian. He also said some migrants resist returning to their home countries because they prefer remaining in the United States under federal support programs.
The Alexandria airport has already become a major center for deportation and transfer flights conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Migrant families and unaccompanied minors are sometimes temporarily housed in nearby hotels while awaiting deportation flights.
However, immigration advocates have raised concerns about the project. Tania Wolf, the southeast advocacy manager for the National Immigration Project, warned that the new center could replicate due process problems reported at other detention facilities across the United States.
The proposal reflects the administration’s wider immigration strategy focused on increasing detention capacity and accelerating deportation procedures, particularly for families and children arriving at the US border.
