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

After being held in a US detention camp for a few days, Fallou was eventually given leave to remain as an asylum seeker.

From BBC

Aged 20, Ngamba was arrested, along with her brother Kennet, and sent from Manchester to a detention camp in London and at risk of being deported until being released a day later.

From BBC

“Look, I think there’s a not-terrible chance that one of you is going to be sharing cellblock 12A in Premier Harris’ prison detention camp in a few years,” he explained, seemingly referring to Vice President Kamala Harris.

From Salon

In 2008, Judge Urbina ordered the release of a number of prisoners being held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, including 17 from the Uyghur Muslim minority in western China.

From New York Times

Begum, who is now 24 years old, still lives in the al-Roj detention camp in north-eastern Syria, where she will probably remain for the foreseeable future as she is effectively stateless.

From BBC