Trump Says U.S. Will Hold Migrants at Guantánamo Bay
New York Times6 days
Trump Orders Guantanamo Bay Expansion for Migrant Detention
story
Above: Members of the US Joint Task Force160 military police scan the perimeter fence line of Camp Delta on Sept. 11, 2002 on Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Image copyright: Erik S. Lesser/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Pres. Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to prepare Guantanamo Bay facilities to house what he termed the "worst criminal illegal aliens," claiming the facility has 30K beds available for detention purposes.
The announcement came as Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, which requires mandatory detention of undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes such as theft or assault.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would oversee the facility's operations, with Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, stating that migrants could be transported directly to Guantanamo after being intercepted at sea by the US Coast Guard.
The Spin
Right narrative
Pres. Trump's expansion of Guantanamo Bay detention facilities represents a necessary measure to protect American communities from dangerous criminal migrants who may not stay in their home countries after deportation. It also immediately doubles the United States' detention capacity.
Left narrative
This latest presidential edict grossly violates basic human rights by creating a legal black hole in an offshore prison, putting people's physical and mental health in jeopardy while attempting to avoid legal oversight and scrutiny of detention conditions. This is a brazen violation of humanitarian principles.
