President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the federal government to expand the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to house up to 30,000 undocumented migrants
The decision, which has drawn swift condemnation from human rights groups and the Cuban government, marks a significant shift in U.S. immigration enforcement policy.
A new migrant detention center
The new facility, separate from the high-security military prison currently operating at Guantanamo Bay, will be managed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is intended to house “the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” according to Trump.
"Most people don’t even know about it," Trump said at the White House before signing the executive order. "We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens. This will double our capacity immediately."
The move follows the signing of the Laken Riley Act, a new law requiring undocumented immigrants arrested for theft or violent crimes to be detained until trial. Named after a Georgia nursing student who was allegedly killed by a Venezuelan migrant, the bill represents one of Trump's earliest legislative victories in his second term.
How the facility will operate
Tom Homan, Trump's newly appointed “border czar,” explained that the facility would be an expansion of the existing Guantanamo Migrant Operations Center (GMOC), which has been used for decades to process migrants intercepted at sea.
“We’re just going to expand upon existing migrant centers,” Homan said, adding that some migrants could be directly transported to Guantanamo Bay after being apprehended by the U.S. Coast Guard.
However, there are questions about the feasibility of the project. A U.S. official told CNN that the claim of 30,000 available beds is misleading, as the base's current capacity has significantly decreased since the 1990s. “There’s no way there’s 30,000 beds anymore,” the official said, adding that staffing levels would need to be drastically increased to accommodate such a large influx of detainees.
Legal and human rights concerns
The expansion of migrant detention at Guantanamo Bay has alarmed civil rights advocates, who argue that the facility has a history of secrecy and human rights violations.
In 2024, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) released a report alleging that migrants held at the GMOC were kept in “inhumane” conditions indefinitely after being detained at sea. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has also pushed for more transparency, filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to uncover details about how migrants are treated at the site.
Cuba condemns the plan
Trump’s announcement has sparked diplomatic tensions with Cuba, which has long considered the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to be an illegal occupation of Cuban territory.
“In an act of brutality, the new U.S. government announces the imprisonment at the Guantanamo Naval Base, located in illegally occupied territory, of thousands of migrants that it forcibly expels,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also denounced the decision, calling it a display of “contempt for human dignity and international law.”
What’s next?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration plans to fund the expansion through “reconciliation and appropriations,” suggesting that the project could be included in a broader spending bill currently being developed by Republican lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Trump’s immigration policies continue to be a key focus of his second-term agenda. With his administration doubling down on migrant detention and deportations, the debate over immigration enforcement is likely to intensify in the coming months.
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