President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will direct the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to prepare a “30,000-person migrant facility” at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, marking the president’s latest policy push against migrants living illegally in the U.S.
US President Donald Trump speaks before signing the Laken Riley Act at the White House in ... [+]
Trump said he will sign an executive order instructing the opening of the migrant facility and noted his administration does not trust the home countries of undocumented migrants to hold them, adding “we don’t want them coming back so we’re going to send them out to Guantanamo."
Pentagon officials were unaware of Trump’s plan, according to The Wall Street Journal, which added the detainment of thousands of migrants would require building temporary housing and other facilities at Guantanamo Bay, a naval base known for housing suspected terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks alongside allegations of torture and abuse.
The president made the announcement shortly before signing the Laken Riley Act, the first bill signed into law during his second term that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants accused of theft, burglary, larceny, or shoplifting offenses.
Trump did not say when exactly he planned to sign the order.
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- That is how many detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay after a series of detainee resettlements spearheaded by the Department of Defense, which recently announced the resettlement of 11 Yemeni detainees to the Government of Oman. Of the 15 remaining at Guantanamo, three detainees are eligible for resettlement, three are eligible for a review board, seven are in a military trial process and two have been convicted and sentenced by military commissions.
In addition to holding terrorism suspects, Guantanamo Bay has been used as a place to hold migrants trying to reach the U.S. by sea. Located on the southeast end of Cuba, the base has a detention facility separated from alleged terrorists. The facility and Guantanamo at large have been accused of forcing migrants to wear blackout goggles, The New York Times reported, citing migrant interviews, internal government reports and noting accusations of poor, unsanitary living conditions and calls with lawyers being monitored. Trump’s plan to send presumably tens of thousands of migrants to Guantanamo Bay is one of several measures the president has levied against undocumented migration to the U.S. The president promised the “largest deportation operation” in U.S. history this month as Immigration and Customs Enforcement has posted daily updates on its arrest numbers since last week. The agency said it arrested 1,016 people Wednesday. Trump has also ordered the military to the border, axed migrants’ ability to make advance appointments with border officials and suspended migrant parole programs.
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