President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he plans to sign an executive order to establish a migrant detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of his ongoing efforts to address illegal immigration. According to The Hill, the order will direct the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare a facility capable of housing up to 30,000 migrants at the U.S. military base.
Guantanamo Bay, historically known for housing military detainees—including several involved in the 9/11 attacks—would now be used to detain what Trump described as the “worst criminal illegal aliens” who pose a threat to the American public. During a signing ceremony for the Laken Riley Act, Trump stated, “We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people.”
Trump further explained, “Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re going to send them out to Guantanamo. This will double our capacity immediately, and tough, it’s a tough place to get out of.”
This move is the latest in Trump’s broader strategy to ramp up deportations and limit immigration to the United States. Guantanamo Bay, which has been criticized for its treatment of detainees and allegations of torture during the War on Terror, is now under scrutiny for its potential new use. Under the Biden administration, operations at the detention facility were being wound down, with only 15 detainees remaining there, according to The Hill.
The announcement follows Trump’s earlier actions to limit immigration pathways. One of his first moves as president was the indefinite suspension of the U.S. refugee admissions program, effectively halting the entry of refugees from war-torn regions such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Central America. The Trump administration also ended several programs that had provided legal pathways for immigrants, such as the parole immigration policy, which allowed individuals to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.
Additionally, the Trump administration stopped renewing parole status for Afghan evacuees, impacting the legal status of many of the 70,000 people brought to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul in 2021. The administration also ended parole programs for other immigrant groups, including those from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Central America.
Other significant actions include the shutdown of the CBP One mobile app, which had facilitated organized entry for asylum seekers at U.S. border points. Last week, the Trump administration authorized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to revoke parole status for over 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, as well as nearly one million individuals who entered the U.S. through CBP One.
These actions are part of Trump’s broader strategy to significantly reduce both legal and illegal immigration to the United States.