President Donald Trump has signed a memo directing the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to prepare a facility at Guantánamo Bay to house thousands of migrants in an effort to “halt the border invasion.” The memo instructs the departments to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity to provide detention space for high-priority criminal aliens in the United States. This move came as Trump previewed the directive during a signing ceremony for an immigration detention measure, highlighting the need to detain dangerous individuals. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned that resources might be established at Guantánamo Bay for the “worst of the worst.”
Guantánamo Bay previously served as a detention site for detainees following the 9/11 attacks, and despite efforts by previous presidents, including Joe Biden and Barack Obama, to shut down the facility, it remains in operation with 15 detainees still present. Trump has made other efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, including declaring a national emergency at the border and signing executive orders to restrict illegal immigration and deportations.
The announcement about using Guantánamo Bay for migrants caught many officials at the Pentagon off guard, with no clear guidance on military involvement or the duration of the mission. While some officials believe the Department of Homeland Security will manage the mission, it is uncertain if the military will be involved, and there are no current plans to upgrade or change military facilities at the site. The Migrant Operations Center at Guantánamo can potentially be expanded with military construction assistance to accommodate the new detainees under the Department of Homeland Security’s management.
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