President Donald Trump has announced plans to use the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a detention facility for undocumented migrants. Under his new executive order, the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security will explore creating a facility at the naval base that could house up to 30,000 migrants.
Speaking on Wednesday as he signed the Laken Riley Act, which mandates the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of crimes, Trump said that some migrants are so dangerous that the U.S. cannot trust other countries to hold them. “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,” he stated.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had earlier hinted at the plan in an interview, confirming that the administration was considering the controversial move as part of a broader immigration crackdown. This includes high-profile arrests in cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver, targeting those convicted of serious crimes.
Trump has also declared a national emergency at the southern border, ordering thousands of additional troops for enforcement and cutting off access to asylum. His administration has vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
One of the major policy changes includes canceling the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) extension for 600,000 Venezuelans. The TPS program, expanded under former President Joe Biden, provided temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to migrants from unstable countries such as Venezuela, Haiti, and El Salvador. However, Trump’s administration has reversed Biden’s last-minute extension of TPS for Venezuelans, which was meant to last for 18 months.
Noem justified the move, stating, “We signed an executive order within the Department of Homeland Security that we are not going to follow through on what they did to tie our hands.”
Venezuelans have been one of the largest groups of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years, many seeking asylum. The revocation of TPS protection has raised concerns among migrant advocates, especially in states like Florida, Texas, and New York, which host the largest numbers of Venezuelan TPS recipients.
Patricia Andrade of Miami-based nonprofit Raíces Venezolanas said many Venezuelans had already applied for asylum or other immigration options, but some are still waiting for new visas. “These are the people we are concerned about,” she explained.
Trump’s immigration policies have drawn sharp reactions, with critics arguing that detaining migrants at Guantanamo would be inhumane and legally questionable. However, the administration insists the measures are necessary to secure the border and enforce immigration laws.