Trump Moves to Prepare Guantanamo Bay for 30,000 'Criminal Illegal Aliens'

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump declared his intention to instruct the Pentagon to prepare Guantanamo Bay for the detention of 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.” "Today I'm signing an executive order directing the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to initiate preparations for a migrant facility accommodating 30,000 individuals at Guantanamo Bay," Trump stated. However, it was subsequently clarified that Trump signed a presidential memorandum rather than an official executive order regarding this initiative. He mentioned the presence of 30,000 beds available at Guantanamo intended for detainees deemed a threat to U.S. safety, asserting that their placement there would prevent their return to society.

"There are some individuals so dangerous that we cannot trust their home countries to contain them; we don’t want them coming back," Trump remarked. "We’re going to send them to Guantanamo." He also indicated that “It’s a tough place to get out of.” The president expressed that this step is vital towards “eradicating the scourge” of migrant criminal activity in American communities for good. Additionally, he urged Congress to ensure complete funding for both the comprehensive restoration of U.S. borders and the financial resources needed to deport record numbers of illegal immigrants.

Cuban Response to Trump’s Announcement

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel condemned Trump’s proposal to send 30,000 migrants to Guantanamo, referring to it as an "act of brutality." He stated, "In an act of brutality, the new U.S. government announces the imprisonment at Guantanamo Naval Base, situated in illegally occupied territory [Cuba], of thousands of migrants that it forcibly expels, and will place them adjacent to well-known facilities for torture and unlawful detention," he wrote in a translated statement on X.

Administration's Remarks and Plans

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem communicated to Fox News’ Will Cain on the "Will Cain Show" on Wednesday that Guantanamo Bay is already being used to detain illegal aliens, particularly those considered the worst offenders. She backed Trump’s aim to enhance the facility's capacity and assured that her department would allocate adequate resources to ensure sufficient space for the removal of criminal illegal aliens from the country.

Joining Cain on the show was Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who had previously served at the facility from 2004 to 2005. Hegseth articulated that Guantanamo Bay is an ideal location for processing and repatriating tens of thousands of illegal immigrants. He affirmed that it is preferable for these individuals to be held in a secure environment like Guantanamo Bay, which was originally designed for such purposes.

“The [Department of Defense] – along with [Homeland Security] – will immediately escalate the capacity of the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (‘Gitmo’) to Full Capacity to provide extra detention space for high-priority criminal aliens we’ve removed,” Hegseth shared in a post on X. He further noted, "Gitmo has been utilized for DECADES, even under Democratic administrations, such as Bill Clinton, to temporarily hold migrants. This isn’t about the detention facilities (where I served) for Al Qaeda; this is utilizing specific facilities for migrants/illegal aliens located on other sections of the naval station."

Immigration Crackdown by the Trump Administration

On Tuesday, the Trump administration highlighted recent ICE apprehensions in a social media thread, reflecting its intensified approach toward immigration enforcement. "969 TOTAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ARRESTS by ICE were documented yesterday, January 27, 2025," the White House disclosed on X. "HERE ARE SOME OF THE WORST." The post illustrated nine illegal immigrants who have been previously convicted of serious crimes, such as child rape, or who are suspected of connections to gang and terrorist organizations.

Trump’s 2024 election campaign promised to significantly reduce illegal immigration that surged under the Biden administration. The 47th president pledged to deport migrants, prioritizing those with extensive criminal records or affiliations with gangs and terrorist entities. On his first day back in office, Trump signed ten executive orders aimed at fundamentally reshaping U.S. immigration laws and policies. After less than a week back in the Oval Office, he reiterated his commitment to fulfilling those promises. His executive actions included restricting the U.S. asylum process for undocumented individuals, discharging military resources to assist in deporting immigration violators, and directing ICE to carry out the removal of unlawful migrants.

Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, armed federal agents specializing in immigration enforcement have conducted sweeps across numerous cities as part of the initial deportation operations. Over the past week, the Department of Homeland Security reported that law enforcement officials have successfully eliminated and repatriated 7,300 illegal aliens.