The ACLU of New Hampshire is pressing for answers on whether the Berlin Federal Correctional Institution is being expanded into an immigration detention center.

Recent reports from news outlets suggest the federal prison in Berlin, a medium-security facility, may soon house immigrants in ICE custody, raising alarm among advocates.

On Monday, the ACLU NH planned to file a Freedom of Information Act request to gather more information, including policy memos, detention standards, contracts and any other documents that could clarify how the facility might be used for ICE detainees.

“This proposal means that immigrants facing civil – not criminal – charges would be sent to a medium-security federal prison in one of the northernmost cities in the entire state, isolated from their family, advocates and potential legal services,” Amanda Azad, policy director at ACLU NH said in an email statement. “We have strong concerns about the conditions that would exist for hundreds of these immigrants, how they would be treated in this prison, and we refuse to stand by and allow this cruelty in our state.”

At present, Strafford County Jail in Dover is the only ICE detention center in the state.

It houses detainees brought in by ICE who have been charged with crimes, along with inmates sentenced there by local courts and the U.S. Marshals Service. People seeking asylum or those who have overstayed their visas are not currently housed there.

Those individuals could be sent to any of the ICE detention centers in New England, including the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts or even the Cumberland County Jail in Maine.

Aside from concerns about mixing immigrants facing civil charges with those accused of crimes, there’s also the issue of location. Berlin is more than 100 miles north of Concord and nearly 190 miles from Boston. The ACLU says that could create “clear logistical concerns.”

“Families, including children, may be prevented from visiting their loved ones in this location, along with logistical concerns regarding accessing legal services and the ability of attorneys to meet with clients,” the ACLU wrote.

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com.