Trump Orders 30,000-Person Migrant Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay
Trump orders 30,000-person migrant detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to house high-priority criminal aliens, expanding the base's capacity.
In a controversial move, President Donald Trump announced plans to establish a massive 30,000-person migrant detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The new facility is intended to house undocumented migrants, particularly those deemed to be high-risk criminal threats to national security.
Speaking from the White House, Trump explained that the detention center would significantly increase the U.S. government’s capacity to hold migrants, specifically citing the need for a secure location to detain individuals that the U.S. does not trust other countries to hold. “Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them, because we don’t want them coming back,” he said, emphasizing the toughness of the Guantanamo facility.
The memorandum issued by the president directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to expand the existing Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo Bay to full capacity. The expansion is intended to address what the administration describes as a border invasion, dismantling criminal cartels, and restoring national sovereignty.
Guantanamo Bay, long known for housing detainees involved in terrorism-related activities since the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, has seen a significant reduction in the number of prisoners held under the Biden administration, with just 15 individuals remaining as of this month. Despite efforts by both Presidents Obama and Biden to close the facility, it remains operational.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, suggested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would manage the new migrant facility, focusing on detaining “the worst of the worst” threats. Noem echoed this sentiment, stating that the infrastructure at Guantanamo Bay would be utilized to address pressing concerns about national security and public safety.
The decision marks a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration policy and adds to the ongoing debate about the treatment of migrants and the use of military facilities for immigration-related purposes.
