President Donald Trump has unveiled plans to house 30,000 illegal migrants at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. The move is part of his administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, which began after he took office.
The plan involves using the 30,000-bed facility, which was previously used to hold terror suspects, to detain suspect migrants accused of being “the worst of the worst.” Trump said that some of the migrants are from countries that “don’t even trust” to detain them when they are deported.
The announcement comes as the administration continues to conduct raids across the country and deportation flights leave the United States daily. Trump signed an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the facility for the influx of migrants.
Trump said that the facility will be used to detain “the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people.” He noted that some of the migrants are so dangerous that the US government doesn’t even trust the countries they are being deported to hold them.
The idea of using Guantanamo Bay for migrants was first floated by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier on Wednesday, and Trump has now put the idea into motion.
The plan is likely to face opposition from lawmakers and human rights groups, who have expressed concerns about the use of a detention facility meant for terror suspects to hold migrants. The facility has a history of controversy, having been used to hold “enemy combatants” during the War on Terror.
Trump’s announcement comes as he continues to face criticism for his administration’s handling of illegal immigration. His plan to use Guantanamo Bay to house 30,000 migrants is seen as a symbol of his administration’s tough stance on immigration.
