In a significant development, detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base have been transferred amid an ongoing legal contest surrounding the use of the facility for immigrant detention. Recently, 40 immigrants were transported from the naval base in Cuba to a detention center in Louisiana.
The U.S. Southern Command confirmed that no immigrants currently remain at Guantanamo Bay. However, government officials have not elaborated on the reasons behind the transfer, nor have they disclosed any details regarding the identities or nationalities of the relocated individuals. Two anonymous officials indicated that while this transfer has taken place, the future use of Guantanamo for detaining immigrants remains uncertain.
Officials have hinted at the possibility of sending “high-threat” detainees to the facility, aligning with previous statements by former President Donald Trump, who had indicated plans to redirect certain criminal migrants to Guantanamo. However, civil rights lawyers argue that many of those previously moved to the facility do not have criminal records and contend that such actions overstep legal boundaries, infringing upon U.S. immigration law.
Efforts by civil rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have led to legal challenges against the administration’s approach. These include a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration earlier this month, aiming to stop the transfer of a group of 10 migrants from the continental U.S. to Guantanamo. The legal filing contains accounts from individuals detained at Guantanamo who describe dire conditions, with one terming it “a living hell.”
Advocacy groups argue that using Guantanamo Bay for such immigrant detentions constitutes an illegal measure, contravening the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Trump administration, on the other hand, maintains that it possesses extensive authority to hold immigrants with finalized deportation orders at the base.
This situation continues to evolve as the courts deliberate on the matter, and the prospect of using Guantanamo Bay as a detention site for immigrants remains under scrutiny.
