President Donald Trump’s administration plans to increase the number of undocumented migrants being transferred to the US Naval facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, according to government documents obtained by Politico and the Washington Post. The documents, reported by the media outlets June 10, state that 9,000 undocumented immigrants are currently being vetted for transfer to Guantánamo, with the first transfers to begin as soon as later this week.
The Migrant Operations Center at the Naval Station Guantánamo Bay was originally opened in 1991 to hold Haitian migrants, and predates the detention camp established at the base after the events of 9-11 to hold “illegal enemy combatants.” Guantánamo gained a grim reputation during the years it was heavily used to hold “enemy combatants” after 9-11, becoming known for what rights groups called extralegal and inhumane conditions. Since then, especially through efforts under the administrations of presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the number of detainees held there has dwindled to 15.
The new plan for the Migrant Operations Center comes amid the Trump administration’s harsh crackdown on undocumented immigrants living in the US. This will be the first mass-deportation to Guantánamo since Trump signed an executive order on his first days in office ordering the secretary of defense and the secretary of homeland security to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo to full capacity. The center can hold up to 30,000 detainees. Trump’s executive order and the newly released documents indicate that the facility will be used to hold undocumented migrants temporarily until they are transferred to their countries of origin.
Politico and the Washington Post reported that this plan has only come together in the last few days, and may be subject to change. Also at issue is a class-action lawsuit pending in Washington DC, Luna Gutierrez v. Noem, in which civil rights groups are calling for the courts to declare holding immigrants at Guantánamo illegal and unconstitutional. The lawsuit cites 10 immigrant detainees who experienced conditions such as insufficient food and rodent infestations at Guantánamo Bay.
From JURIST, June 11. Used with permission.
Photo: Spc. Cody Black/WikiMedia via Jurist
