US President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly weighing plans to send at least 9,000 migrants – including 800 from Europe – to the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, according to reports by Politico and The Washington Post, which cite government documents and sources within the administration. Guantanamo would serve as a temporary holding site before migrants are deported to their countries of origin.
According to The Washington Post, US officials said the individuals being vetted for transfer are in the United States illegally.
Trump first announced he wanted to transfer up to 30,000 migrants to the facility in January – a proposal that “shocked” Pentagon officials, who voiced concerns over the island's tropical climate, limited personnel, and insufficient medical infrastructure, reported Politico.
For years the facility at Guantanamo Bay was primarily used to hold terrorism suspects detained after the 9/11 attacks, up to 780 detainees at the height of the so-called War on Terror. Since February, the Trump administration has reportedly housed around 500 migrants at the facility, pending deportation.
Politico reported that the first group of migrants could be transferred as early as Wednesday. The plans were only finalised in recent days and are still subject to change, according to the documents.
According to The Washington Post, the US Department of Homeland Security is reportedly “unlikely” to notify the migrants' countries of origin in advance.
The people under consideration for transfer come from a wide range of countries. Among them are several hundred nationals from US-allied European states, including Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, and Ukraine, reports The Washington Post. Others are from countries across the globe, including a significant number of Haitian nationals.
Officials disclosed the details to The Washington Post, along with select internal documents, on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter. Meanwhile, the US White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed The Washington Post story as "fake news".
Politico further noted that State Department officials responsible for European affairs are urging the Department of Homeland Security to drop the plan. Some US diplomats have also criticised the inclusion of European citizens in the plans, arguing that most European nations typically cooperate in accepting deported nationals and thus do not require such intermediate processing in Guantanamo.
The plan emerged as legal challenges intensified against the administration’s use of Guantanamo Bay to detain migrants. A federal US class-action lawsuit currently underway in Washington claims that around 70 immigrant detainees are being held at the facility under “punitive” conditions, citing inadequate food, infrequent access to clean clothing, and infestations of rodents, according to Politico.
Attorneys argued that the US government has failed to provide any legitimate justification for detaining migrants at Guantanamo Bay instead of facilities within the United States. Rather, the threat of being detained at Guantanamo is used to frighten immigrants, the lawsuit states.
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