The US government is transforming the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base into a large-scale immigration detention center under President Trump’s order. On Tuesday, a plane carrying 10 migrant detainees from Fort Bliss Army base in Texas departed for Guantanamo Bay. These migrants were classified as “high-threat” and will be held in cells within the naval base.
Venezuelan men with ties to the Tren De Aragua gang are among those being detained. The US government plans to send unauthorized immigrants arrested by ICE into the naval base, where they will face deportation efforts aimed at processing 30,000 high-priority detainees with criminal records.
The decision has sparked debate over who should have custody and what rights these migrants will be granted. Guantanamo Bay’s Migrant Operations Center has screened asylum-seekers intercepted at sea, but it is separate from the detention center where terrorism suspects are held. The US has traditionally not allowed those caught at sea to seek asylum in the country.
Following Trump’s directive, officials have set up tent facilities outside the Migrant Operations Center to hold migrants before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay. This marks a significant shift in immigration policy under the current administration.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-guantanamo-bay-migrant-detainees