ALEXANDRIA — Protesters gathered at the England Administration Center near Alexandria International Airport to push back against ICE deportations underway there.

Multiple buses carried dozens of protesters to the site, with speakers calling out ICE deportation efforts actively taking place at the airport.

The WBRZ Investigative Unit tracked flights coming in and out of Alexandria in a three-part series, revealing that Alexandria has become the number one destination for ICE deportations not just in the country but worldwide.

Ralph Hennessy serves as the executive director for the England Economic and Industrial Development District, where the airport is located on a former military base. Many of the buildings on campus are already leased by ICE to temporarily house those detained under the current administration's deportation policies.

"It makes sense for them to move those deportations through our facility, where we’re already set up and geared to do it," Hennessy said.

A new facility is also in the works, one that protesters described as a prison for children. The lease agreement for that facility was approved in February, and construction has moved forward.

Hennessy said the protesters came to disrupt the public meeting but did not accomplish that.

"There are a lot of people in Central Louisiana that make a living off of the immigration world, the prison world," he said.