The Trump administration is poised to enact a controversial plan to transfer thousands of undocumented migrants to the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. According to government documents reported by POLITICO and the Washington Post, 9,000 migrants are currently being vetted for this move, with transfers expected to begin imminently.
The Migrant Operations Center at Guantánamo was originally established post-9/11 to detain illegal enemy combatants and became infamous for its conditions during years of heavy use. Former President Barack Obama significantly reduced detainee numbers, in contrast to the Trump administration’s recent strategy to utilize the facility fully as part of its stringent immigration policies.
This initiative follows an executive order signed by President Trump early in his tenure, authorizing the expansion of the Migrant Operations Center to accommodate up to 30,000 detainees. The aim is to use the facility as a temporary holding area for undocumented migrants pending their deportation to their countries of origin as per the executive order details.
While this plan has not yet been finalized and is subject to change, it faces significant legal challenges. A pending class-action lawsuit, Luna Gutierrez v. Noem, spearheaded by U.S. civil rights groups, calls for the Supreme Court to declare the detention of migrants at Guantánamo illegal. This lawsuit includes allegations from detainees about inadequate food provisions and rodent infestations, as noted in a JURIST report.