detention center

American  

[dih-ten-shuhn sen-ter] / dɪˈtɛn ʃən ˌsɛn tər /

noun

1. a facility maintained by the civil authorities for persons charged with a crime, immigrants awaiting deportation rulings, or sometimes witnesses before a trial.

2. juvenile detention center.

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Etymology

Origin of detention center

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

At the detention center, he said, agents have told him they’ll still find a way to deport him — if not to Cuba, then maybe Panama or Costa Rica.

From Los Angeles Times

The decision concluded the final merits hearing of his immigration case and marked the 60th day of his detention at the Bluebonnet Detention Center.

From Salon

A judge this month refused to dismiss an assault case against Rep. LaMonica McIver after a confrontation with federal law-enforcement officials outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mark Rosenbaum, of Public Counsel, which helped bring the lawsuit, said that the court has “affirmed that the Constitution does not stop at the doors of a detention center.”

From Los Angeles Times

During a June Zoom call, Enriquez heard activists say they couldn’t communicate with one another while protesting outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. after their cellphones suddenly stopped working.

From Los Angeles Times