detention camp

noun

1. a compound where prisoners are detained temporarily, as pending determination of their legal status under immigration laws.

Word History and Origins

Origin of detention camp¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

The detention camp contract at Fort Bliss, which could eventually hold 5,000 people, was awarded to a consortium of firms led by a company on the military contracting list for over $1 billion.

From Salon

They’re supposed to expedite the deportation of the tens of thousands of people currently in detention camps and go through millions of backlogged cases even though few of them have experience with immigration law.

From Los Angeles Times

I think of the cavalier way Republican lawmakers have denied claims about the detention camp’s conditions.

From Salon

Bliss, the U.S. is constructing a new 5,000-bed immigrant detention camp.

From Los Angeles Times

They argue it’s less a temporary holding site and more a punitive, secretive detention camp where detainees face extreme heat, overcrowded conditions, limited legal access and virtually no transparency.

From Salon