The memo will direct the Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security to prepare a 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantánamo Bay, a facility in Cuba that has been used to house military prisoners, including several involved in the 9/11 attacks.
“We have 30,000 beds in Guantánamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump said during an event to sign the Laken Riley Act into law, stiffening the nation’s immigration laws.
“Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re going to send them out to Guantánamo,” Trump added. “This will double our capacity immediately. And tough, it’s a tough place to get out of.”
The order is the latest step in a government-wide effort enacted by the Trump administration to remove certain immigrants from the United States.
Guantánamo Bay is best known as a military base where terror suspects are held. It became infamous for accusations of torture and abuse as the U.S. carried out the war on terrorism. The Biden administration sought to wind down operations at the facility. There are 15 detainees still there.
The New York Times last September reported that the base also included a separate facility to house migrants.
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has signed a slew of executive orders specifically intended to crack down on immigration. He has declared a national emergency at the southern border, deployed military assets to the border, reinstated policies that limit pathways to asylum and paused the refugee program.
His administration has also ramped up deportations, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement posting regular updates about how many arrests it carries out on a day-to-basis and military flights used to ferry individuals out of the United States.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
