All About Guantanamo Bay, Donald Trump's Proposed Destination For Illegal Immigrants

Guantanamo Bay, a US military prison in Cuba, has housed terrorism suspects since 2002. Under Trump, plans to detain 30,000 migrants emerged.

30 Jan 2025, 07:48 · www.ndtv.com

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he planned to detain 30,000 "criminal illegal aliens" at the notorious Guantanamo Bay military prison, used for holding terrorism suspects since the 9/11 attacks.

Trump made the shock announcement as he signed a bill allowing the pre-trial detention of undocumented migrants charged with theft and violent crime-named after a US student killed by a Venezuelan immigrant.

He said he was signing an executive order instructing the Pentagon and the Homeland Security department to "begin preparing the 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay," Trump said at the White House.

"We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people. Some of them are so bad we don't even trust the countries to hold them, because we don't want them coming back," Trump said.

Calling Guantanamo a "tough place to get out of," Trump said the measures announced on Wednesday would "bring us one step closer to eradicating the scourge of migrant crime in our communities once and for all."

As Trump signs the first law of his second administration, the Laken Riley Act, let's take a closer look at the Guantanamo Bay military prison-its purpose, history, and significance.

What is the history of Guantanamo?

According to The Guardian, Guantanamo Bay military prison was opened in January 2002 on a US naval base on a coastal spit of land in southeastern Cuba, leased from Havana under a treaty dating back to 1903.

The detention facility was set up after the 11 September 2001 attacks under the administration of then-president George W. Bush to deal with prisoners who were termed "enemy combatants" and denied many US legal rights.

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.

Obama's administration gave up on efforts to hold trials in New York and place long-term detainees in an empty prison in Illinois in the face of furious local opposition.

Also Read | Laken Riley Act: Trump 2.0's First Law That Targets Illegal Immigrants In US

Have migrants ever been detained at Guantanamo?

The US has detained migrants at Guantánamo for decades in a separate area. From 2020-2023, 37 migrants were held, but numbers may rise under Trump's intensified crackdown on illegal immigration.

Are there still prisoners there?

Of 800 detainees held at Guantanamo since 2002, only 15 remain. Three are eligible for transfer, three for review, seven face charges, and two are convicted. Biden's administration recently released 11 Yemenis.

Most notorious detainees at Guantanamo Bay?

Guantanamo holds 9/11 plotters, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and USS Cole attacker Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Few detainees were charged or convicted, with 55% found not to have committed hostile acts.

Isn't the violation of human rights a serious concern?

Guantanamo faces global condemnation for human rights abuses. Critics call it a legal anomaly harming U.S. reputation. Controversies include force-feeding hunger strikers, deemed torture by opponents. At least nine inmates have died there, seven by apparent suicide.

(With inputs from AFP)

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