US President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of a large migrant detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, with plans to hold up to 30,000 people. He described the facility as a measure to detain “the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people.”
The detention center, which will be separate from the existing high-security military prison at Guantanamo, is the latest in Trump’s hardline immigration policies. His administration has long argued that stricter measures are necessary to curb illegal immigration and enhance national security.
Tom Homan, the administration’s “border tsar,” later confirmed that the existing facility at Guantanamo Bay would be expanded and operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups, who have long opposed the use of the naval base for detaining immigrants.
Meanwhile, Cuba’s government has swiftly condemned the decision, with President Miguel Díaz-Canel calling it an act of “brutality” and accusing the US of perpetuating illegal detention and torture on what he described as “occupied” Cuban land. The Cuban government has historically opposed the US presence at Guantanamo, viewing it as a violation of their sovereignty.
Trump’s announcement coincided with his signing of the Laken Riley Act, which mandates that undocumented immigrants arrested for theft or violent crimes be detained in jail until their trial.
