President Donald Trump
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The US government is undergoing a significant transformation in its immigration policy with the rapid establishment of a major detention centre at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
This initiative follows President Trump's recent directive to expand detention capacities, leading to the transfer of the first group of migrant detainees to the base on Tuesday. In a bold move, President Trump has ordered that Guantanamo Bay's facilities be expanded to manage as many as 30,000 "high-priority" unauthorized immigrants, particularly targeting individuals with criminal histories. This directive has prompted a coordinated response among various federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security, to put the president's orders into action.
On Tuesday afternoon, ten migrant detainees were transported from Fort Bliss Army base near the Texas border to Guantanamo Bay. According to multiple US officials, this cohort has been classified as "high-threat" due to their alleged links to the Tren De Aragua gang, a notorious criminal organization originating from Venezuelan prisons. Moving forward, it is anticipated that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will apprehend additional detainees for transfer to the naval base.
Under President Trump's administration, ICE has escalated its operational tempo, averaging between 800 and 1,000 arrests per day over the past week, a substantial increase from the 312 daily arrests made during President Biden's final year in office. The decision to utilize Guantanamo Bay for these purposes has sparked internal discussions regarding whether the Pentagon or the Department of Homeland Security will maintain custody of the detainees, as well as the legal rights that these individuals possess.
Historically, Guantanamo Bay has functioned as a Migrant Operations Center for processing asylum seekers intercepted at sea. This facility operates separately from the military detention centre that emerged following the September 11 attacks and currently holds several terrorism suspects. Previously, a limited number of migrants had been housed in barrack-style accommodations while awaiting interviews with asylum officers, resulting in successful resettlements in third countries such as Australia and Canada.
Recent developments indicate a departure from these past practices, with the US officials establishing tent facilities outside the Migrant Operations Center to handle the expected influx of high-threat detainees who will not be processed through the existing facility. During the 1990s, Guantanamo Bay was utilized to detain numerous Haitian migrants, including a camp specifically for those diagnosed with HIV, who faced restrictions on entering the US.
In support of the new directive, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the southwest border on Monday and endorsed Guantanamo Bay as a suitable location for incarcerating "hardened criminals." He stated, "Where are you going to put Tren De Aragua before you send them all the way back? How about a maximum security prison at Guantanamo Bay, where we have the space?"