The public authority that runs England Airpark agreed to send its press statements and releases to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for clearance before publication.

Article 22 of the intergovernmental services agreement reviewed by The Kingfish Project says the England Economic and Industrial Development District must coordinate public-information issues involving people held by ICE. The agreement calls the district the service provider and federal contractor.

The same article requires the district to announce unusual or newsworthy incidents to local media. It lists deaths, escapes from custody and facility emergencies as examples. The next sentence reads: “All press statements and releases shall be cleared, in advance, with the ICE Office of Public Affairs.”

The requirement puts a federal agency inside the public communications process of a Louisiana political subdivision. The state law that created the district gives it a public board and a local economic-development mission. Under the ICE agreement, the district remains the federal contractor for a facility operated day to day by The LaSalle Family Foundation, LLC.

Requests, releases and visits#

Article 22 also tells the district what to do when it receives a request for information about people in ICE custody. The district must notify the ICE Freedom of Information Act officer and direct the requester to file with ICE. If the district plans to release the agreement or information exchanged under it, it must coordinate with that officer first.

Members of Congress go through a separate channel. The district must notify ICE’s Office of Congressional Relations when a member asks for information. A congressional request to visit the facility requires notice to both that office and the ICE contracting officer.

ICE also controls access to the facility. Article 22 says tours and visits will be conducted as ICE directs. The agreement requires employees who speak or write publicly about the operation to state that their opinions do not represent the federal government.

The contract allows the Airpark to speak#

The coordination clause does not bar the England Authority from describing the agreement. Article 22 says the service provider “may, at its discretion, communicate the substance of this IGSA when requested.” It also says ICE understands the agreement “will become a public document when presented to the service provider’s governing body for approval.”

The Authority’s board authorized Executive Director Ralph Hennessy to execute the ICE agreement on Feb. 26. The meeting minutes record the vote but do not include the contract. By April, an Authority committee reported that the agreement was nearly finished and there was “nothing further for the Board to approve”.

Hennessy later wrote that the final agreement was reviewed by members of the administration, including the executive director and deputy director. His Aug. 26 response said commissioners could review it. The Kingfish Project has confirmed with multiple sources familiar with the matter that commissioners are only able to view the document in Mr. Hennessy's office and not remove a copy for their own records.

The Kingfish Project has since reviewed leaked pages from the executed agreement and confirmed public-disclosure language on the photographed page matches the July 2025 draft linked above.

If the England Authority releases the executed IGSA, we will update this article accordingly.