Trump orders opening of detention centre at Guantanamo Bay for up to 30,000 migrants

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has said he is directing the opening of a detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are living illegally in the United States.

Trump made the announcement right before he signed the Laken Riley Act into law as his administration’s first piece of legislation.

“We’re going to send them out to Guantanamo,” the US president said in the White House East Room. He did not elaborate.

The US military base has been used to house terror suspects. 

The bipartisan measure means that people who are in the US illegally and are accused of theft and violent crimes would have to be detained and potentially deported even before a conviction.

The measure quickly passed the new Republican-controlled Congress with some Democratic support, even though immigrants rights advocates said it possibly could lead to large roundups of people for offences as minor as shoplifting.

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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel described the plans as “an act of brutality” in a post on social media this evening. 

“In an act of brutality, the new US government announces imprisonment at the Guantanamo Naval Base, located in illegally occupied Cuban territory,” the president said, adding the migrants would be held near facilities he said the US had used for “torture and illegal detention.”

Trump has pledged that his administration will carry out the largest mass deportation effort in US history. He has made the promised crackdown a centrepiece of his political career, and is now suggesting the new law might only be the beginning.

The Laken Riley Act was described by Trump as a “landmark law” and “tremendous tribute” to the murdered Georgia nursing student after whom it is named.

Laken Riley, 22, went out for a run in February 2024 and was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who was in the country illegally. Ibarra was found guilty in November and sentenced to life without parole.

“She was a light of warmth and kindness,” Trump said during a signing ceremony that included Riley’s parents and sister.

“It’s a tremendous tribute to your daughter what’s taking place today, that’s all I can say. It’s so sad we have to be doing it.”

He added: “It’s a landmark law that we’re doing today. It’s going to save countless lives.”