{"id":257166,"date":"2025-03-12T03:47:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T03:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/12\/what-we-know-about-the-month-old-migrant-mission-at-guantanamo-bay\/"},"modified":"2025-03-12T03:47:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T03:47:23","slug":"what-we-know-about-the-month-old-migrant-mission-at-guantanamo-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/12\/what-we-know-about-the-month-old-migrant-mission-at-guantanamo-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Know About the Month-Old Migrant Mission at Guant\u00e1namo Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/multimedia\/10dc-gitmo3-gqzf\/10dc-gitmo3-gqzf-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"What We Know About the Month-Old Migrant Mission at Guant\u00e1namo Bay\" title=\"What We Know About the Month-Old Migrant Mission at Guant\u00e1namo Bay\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In little over a month, the Trump administration has moved fewer than 300 men from an immigration holding site in Texas to the U.S. military base at Guant\u00e1namo Bay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As of this past weekend, 40 migrants were at the base in Cuba. In some instances they have spent just days there, before being sent back to the United States without explanation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Jan. 29, President Trump said the base would receive as many as 30,000 migrants awaiting deportation. The Defense and Homeland Security Departments began putting up tents for the expected arrivals, but the encampments are not yet open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Here are some of the things we have learned about the migrant mission so far.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-2a4069bb\">Is Guant\u00e1namo ready for 30,000 migrants?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For now, the operation can hold just 225 immigration detainees at a time, according to a briefing provided to members of Congress who visited the base on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A small dormitory-style building near the airport can house 50 men. The remainder could be held in a Pentagon prison facility, called Camp 6, that until January held people suspected of being members of Al Qaeda who were arrested during the war against terrorism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But construction on a vast tent city was halted weeks ago. U.S. forces and contractors installed about 195 tents with space for 10 to 12 cots each, but nobody is occupying them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt seems clear there\u2019s no plan to get to 30,000 that\u2019s workable in any way,\u201d said Representative Sara Jacobs, Democrat of California, who toured the facilities on Friday as part of a bipartisan delegation from the House Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The tents currently do not meet basic Homeland Security health and safety needs for two reasons: They lack air conditioning, and mold has appeared inside some of them. More security measures are also needed in the tent area before it is ready to house individuals whom the Trump administration describes as \u201ccriminal aliens.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A contractor has been found to upgrade the tents but no work has started, Ms. Jacobs said the delegation was told.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-ca78576\">What do we know about the migrants?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At least 20 aircraft brought about 270 migrants to the base from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in El Paso between Feb. 4 and March 7. The first 178 were Venezuelans. All but one of them were cleared out on Feb. 20, flown to Honduras and then deported home. Another 58 were transferred back to the United States \u2014 10 to Texas and the rest to an ICE site in Louisiana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Members of Congress were told that all of those held there this past weekend had final deportation orders and were from 20 different countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea, Venezuela and Vietnam. Little is known about why these men in particular were chosen from the more than 40,000 immigration detainees who were in Homeland Security custody throughout the United States last week.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-189b6094\">How big and expensive is the operation?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">More than <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dvidshub.net\/news\/491563\/secdef-hegseth-visits-naval-station-guantanamo-bay\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">1,000 security forces and civilians combined<\/a> are assigned to the operation at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, including soldiers, sailors and Marines, ICE agents, contractors and members of the Coast Guard, the military has said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some of the troops are <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/home.army.mil\/wood\/contact\/publications\/mp_mag\/mp_mag-15-2\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">military police<\/a> who had been guarding U.S. service members at a brig-like facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. Others are members of the 36th Medical Group out of Fort Bragg, N.C.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The operation has so far cost $16 million, Ms. Jacobs said the delegation was told. It was not clear whether that figure included charter and military flights, she said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4a90d473\">Why have so few migrants been held there?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The administration may be recognizing that the base is less than an ideal way station.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The tent city concept that the military was implementing for Mr. Trump\u2019s order was designed to shelter people from Caribbean nations who had fled political unrest or a natural disaster, as a humanitarian relief project. The administration says the men it is deporting are \u201ccriminal aliens\u201d who need stricter security measures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On March 2, 48 of the migrants who were sent there from Texas were suddenly transferred to ICE facilities near Alexandria, La., a major deportation hub. It is not known whether they remain in ICE custody or were subsequently deported.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-e0760be\">What don\u2019t we know about the operation?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many aspects of the operation have not been made public.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For example, ICE sent nine migrants back to El Paso on Feb. 26, a day after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was at Guant\u00e1namo and observed nine migrants being led off a C-130 transport from El Paso during his visit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On March 4, ICE said it could not comment on that question \u201cdue to pending civil litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some immigration advocates and civil liberties groups have asked a federal judge to order the administration to stop its \u201ccruel, unnecessary and illegal transfers to and detention at Guant\u00e1namo.\u201d A court hearing is scheduled for Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Also unknown are the costs of using chartered aircraft to shuttle migrants to and from Guant\u00e1namo Bay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">ICE <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ice.gov\/features\/ICE-Air\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">has reported the figure<\/a> at \u201c$6,929 to $26,795 per flight hour, depending on aircraft requirements\u201d for a \u201cspecial high-risk charter,\u201d and $8,577 per flight hour for a daily scheduled charter. ICE spokesmen have said most of the migrants sent to Guant\u00e1namo are \u201chigh-threat\u201d detainees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The government has used the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/globalxair.com\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Global X charter firm<\/a> to shuttle people between Texas, Cuba and Louisiana. But it is not known when the hourly fee begins \u2014 after it arrives at a U.S. base to pick up, or when it leaves a hub in Miami to fly to the base.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In contrast, the Pentagon estimates the cost of operating a C-17 cargo plane, which has been used twice to transfer migrants to Guant\u00e1namo, at about $28,000 an hour and the slower C-130 J, which was used for more than a dozen flights, at $20,000 an hour.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-2cd1132f\">Is there a fear factor?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the pace of detentions so far, Ms. Jacobs said, there has been no need to house the detainees at Guant\u00e1namo Bay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s entirely for the optics,\u201d she said, to look tough and instill fear to deter people who are considering entering the United States illegally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Mr. Hegseth visited the base, he said: \u201cI think the message is clear: If you break the law, if you are a criminal, you could find your way at Guant\u00e1namo Bay. You don\u2019t want to be at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, which is where we housed Al Qaeda after 9\/11.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/10\/us\/politics\/deportations-migrants-guantanamo.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In little over a month, the Trump administration has moved fewer than 300 men from an immigration holding site in Texas to the U.S. military base at Guant\u00e1namo Bay. As of this past weekend, 40 migrants were at the base in Cuba. In some instances they have spent just days there, before being sent back [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/multimedia\/10dc-gitmo3-gqzf\/10dc-gitmo3-gqzf-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17195,185050,5500,163575,17194,163602,164732,169294,90287,173483,172006,172007,5295,163573,9945,198580,164733,52,163574,163486],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257166"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":257168,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257166\/revisions\/257168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}