All 40 illegal migrants held at the Guantánamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba have been sent back to the United States and are now being held in Louisiana, two U.S. defense officials told Fox News.
The group includes 23 “high-threat illegal aliens” who were held at the detention facility on base and 17 migrants who were held at the migrant operations center on base.
The illegal migrants were transported to Louisiana via Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aircraft and there are currently no migrants being held at the base and no flights scheduled to arrive with more migrants, the officials said.
Migrants boarding a military flight to Guantánamo Bay earlier this year. All 40 illegal migrants held at the Guantánamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba have been sent back to the United States and are now being held in Louisiana, two U.S. defense officials told Fox News. (Department of Homeland Security)
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The U.S. defense officials were not told why the 40 migrants were sent back to the United States, and Homeland Security and ICE have not yet responded to any inquiries about why they were sent back and where in Louisiana they are being held.
It is unclear if the U.S. will continue to hold migrants at the base, commonly known as “Gitmo.” None of the 195 tents that were set up to hold migrants have been used because they do not meet ICE standards, according to several U.S. defense officials, such as having air conditioning and other amenities.
In late January, President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to prepare 30,000 beds at the base to house “criminal illegal aliens” who pose a threat to the American public, adding that putting them there would ensure they do not come back. The president said the move would bring the U.S. one step closer to “eradicating the scourge” of migrant crime in communities, once and for all.
News of the migrants being sent to Louisiana comes as President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in an effort to pave the way for faster mass deportations of illegal immigrants. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, left, DOD via AP, right.)
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But the operation to build more tents was halted back in February, just several weeks after it started.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the base in late February and met with troops serving there.
The 45-square-mile base, located about 430 miles southeast of Miami, is best known for detaining terrorism suspects, including those behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It’s been leased from Cuba since 1903 and serves as a key operational and logistics hub for maritime security, humanitarian assistance and joint operations.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with troops at the base last month. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. ShaTyra Cox)
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News of the migrants being sent to Louisiana comes as President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in an effort to pave the way for faster mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
Trump will use the law to target members of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, the New York Post reported, citing two sources close to the administration.
Trump campaigned on invoking the wartime law, which allows the president to detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy nation.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/all-illegal-migrants-held-guantanamo-bay-cuba-have-been-sent-louisiana
