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The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the first U.S. flights transporting detained migrants to the Guantanamo Bay military facility in Cuba were in progress. This move marks a significant escalation in President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to curb illegal migration, reinforcing its hardline stance on border enforcement.
Although Guantanamo Bay is best known for housing individuals accused of terrorism-related crimes, it has a long history of detaining migrants as well. Last week, President Trump directed the establishment of a large-scale migrant holding facility at the base, with a capacity of 30,000, further amplifying his administration’s strict immigration policies.
“Today, the first flights from the United States to Guantanamo Bay with illegal migrants are underway,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox Business.
The Trump administration has unveiled what it describes as a decisive new phase in its fight against illegal immigration, spearheaded by a wave of raids, arrests, and the unprecedented use of military planes for deportation operations.
Since its opening after the 9/11 attacks, Guantanamo Bay has become synonymous with indefinite detention, housing individuals apprehended in war zones and counterterrorism operations. Human rights groups have consistently denounced its conditions, while UN experts have called it a detention site of “unparalleled notoriety.”
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Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden both sought to close the facility, but Congress has opposed efforts to shutter Guantanamo and it remains open to this day.
It still holds 15 people incarcerated for militant activity or terrorism-related offenses, but migrants will be detained in a separate part of the base.
According to US Southern Command, there are some 300 American military personnel at Guantanamo supporting “illegal alien holding operations.”