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U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to transfer thousands of undocumented migrants to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of his administration’s mass deportation initiative.
In February, Trump deployed members of the Armed Forces to expand the capacity of the detention facility at the U.S. naval base, commonly referred to as “Gitmo.”
According to Politico, at least 9,000 individuals have been identified for possible transfer to the facility as early as Wednesday. In recent months, approximately 500 migrants have already been held there for short periods.
A document obtained by the outlet suggests that several hundred European nationals—including over a hundred Russians and Romanians—are among those considered for transfer, raising concerns within the State Department. “The message is to shock and horrify people, to upset people—but we’re allies,” said an anonymous State Department official familiar with the plans.
The policy has already drawn legal scrutiny, with critics questioning the legality of using Guantanamo for migrant detention. Trump has announced plans to detain up to 30,000 high-priority migrants with criminal records at the facility.
Legal experts stress that detainees at Guantanamo are still entitled to constitutional protections. “The government’s view at that time was that Guantanamo was outside the parameters of the U.S. Constitution, and whoever was there had no rights whatsoever. The Supreme Court rejected that,” said Eugene Fidell, a military law expert at Yale Law School, referencing past rulings that upheld detainees’ rights to habeas corpus and legal representation.
“We don’t want them coming back, so we’re sending them to Guantanamo,” Trump said during a White House briefing.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border enforcement advisor, confirmed that the administration plans to expand the facility’s capacity, including the construction of temporary tents by the military.
“We’re just going to expand upon that existing migrant center,” Homan told reporters.
