Trump announces plan to send some migrants to Guantanamo Bay

Trump announces plan to send some migrants to Guantanamo Bay

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of a migrant detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, stating that it will hold up to 30,000 people. The facility, which will be separate from the high-security military prison already operating at the base, is intended to house what Trump described as “the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people.”

Guantanamo Bay has historically been used to detain migrants, though human rights groups have long criticized the practice. Trump’s announcement has reignited controversy over the treatment of undocumented immigrants, as well as the U.S. government’s continued use of the Cuban territory for detention purposes.

Trump’s “border tsar,” Tom Homan, later clarified that the existing migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay, the Guantanamo Migrant Operations Center (GMOC), would be expanded and placed under the control of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He also stated that migrants intercepted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard would be transported directly to the facility and assured that the “highest detention standards” would be enforced.

The cost and timeline for the facility’s completion remain unclear. The move comes as Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, a bill requiring undocumented immigrants arrested for theft or violent crimes to be detained until trial. Named after a Georgia nursing student murdered last year by a Venezuelan migrant, the bill was recently passed by Congress and marks an early legislative victory for Trump’s administration.

Speaking at the signing ceremony at the White House, Trump confirmed that his executive order directs the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparations for the 30,000-bed facility. He stated that they would be sent to Guantanamo Bay, describing it as a highly secure location from which escape would be nearly impossible.

The U.S. has used Guantanamo Bay for migrant detention for decades, though previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have largely kept the GMOC facility out of the public eye. In 2024, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) accused the U.S. government of secretly detaining migrants there indefinitely in “inhumane” conditions.

The Trump administration has confirmed that the planned expansion will transform it into a formal detention center.

News of the expansion was met with swift condemnation from the Cuban government. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced the move on social media, calling it an “act of brutality” and accusing the U.S. of planning to imprison “thousands of forcibly expelled migrants” near sites of “torture and illegal detention.” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez further criticized the plan, calling it an example of “contempt for the human condition and international law.”

Guantanamo Bay has long been a source of tension between the U.S. and Cuba, with Cuban leaders considering it “occupied” territory since the rise of Fidel Castro in 1959. The military prison at Guantanamo, which once held hundreds of detainees following the 9/11 attacks, currently houses 15 prisoners. Multiple Democratic presidents, including Barack Obama, have unsuccessfully attempted to close it.

As Trump’s administration moves forward with its detention plans, the expansion of Guantanamo’s role in immigration enforcement is likely to spark further legal and diplomatic challenges.