The action follows a Jan. 29 memorandum directing Defense and Homeland Security departments to prepare Guantanamo Bay to house up to 30,000 illegal immigrants.
Flights transferring illegal immigrants to the Guantanamo Bay naval facility in Cuba have begun, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced, saying it is a key step in the Trump administration’s commitment to cracking down on illegal immigration and enhancing public safety.
“President Trump is not messing around, and he’s no longer going to allow America to be a dumping ground for illegal criminals from nations all over this world,” Leavitt told Fox News in a Feb. 4 interview. “Today, the first flights from the United States to Guantanamo Bay with illegal migrants are underway.”
The action follows a Jan. 29 memorandum signed by Trump directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to prepare Guantanamo Bay to house up to 30,000 illegal immigrants. Leavitt said the commencement of the deportation flights marks a major step in implementing that directive.
“President Trump, Pete Hegseth, and Kristi Noem are already delivering on this promise to utilize that capacity at Gitmo for illegal criminals who have broken our nation’s immigration laws and then have further committed heinous crimes against lawful American citizens here at home,” Leavitt said.
Trump’s decision to use Guantanamo Bay as part of his broader immigration enforcement effort aligns with his push to strengthen border security and increase deportations—particularly of individuals who have committed crimes beyond unlawful entry into the United States.
“We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,“ Trump told reporters on Jan. 29. ”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.”
Trump first proposed using Guantanamo Bay to house illegal immigrants during a Jan. 27 speech at his Doral golf club, suggesting it would be cheaper than detaining them in U.S. prisons.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would operate the detention center for illegal immigrants at Guantanamo Bay.
“There’s already a migrant center there. It’s been there for decades. So we’re just going to expand upon the existing migrant center,” Homan said.
The Guantanamo Bay military prison was created in 2002 under President George W. Bush to detain foreign suspects linked to terrorism after the 9/11 attacks.
Since taking office, Trump has acted decisively on immigration enforcement. This includes declaring a national emergency at the southern border and ordering federal agencies to take immediate action to repel, repatriate, and remove illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border.
He also issued an executive order on Jan. 20 suspending the current U.S. refugee admissions program (USRAP) until reforms are made to ensure that further refugee arrivals align “with the interests of the United States.”