Key points
- Trump has pledged to “rid the US of criminal aliens”
- Deportation plan moves ahead at warp speed
- More active-duty members deployed to border with Mexico
ISLAMABAD: United States (US) Marines arrived at the notorious Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba on Sunday as Trump’s migrant deportation plan moves ahead at warp speed.
The White House announced the arrival of the forces deployed to the island to assist in expanding the terrorist prison to be used as housing for illegal migrants.
“US Marines have arrived at Guantanamo Bay to support the Department of Defence and Homeland Security in expanding the Migrant Operations Centre—advancing President Trump’s mission to protect Americans and secure our nation,” a joint Instagram post by the White House, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance said.
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Infamous torture facility
The US naval base was most infamously used as a prison for suspected terrorists, including those allegedly involved in plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks.
It became infamous for the use of inhumane interrogation methods used on prisoners.
Housing migrants at what has become colloquially known as GITMO comes as the new administration grapples with where to hold illegal and undocumented migrants in the push towards mass deportation, according to Daily Mail.
According to AFP, the Pentagon has been scrambling to put in motion Trump’s executive orders signed shortly after he took office on January 20.
Moreover, 1,600 active-duty troops were deployed to the border with Mexico.
Shut down borders
The deployments reflected Trump’s determination to expand the military’s role in his campaign to shut down the border and send detained migrants back to their home countries.
Troops going to the border were expected to help put in place concertina wire barriers and provide needed transportation, intelligence and other support to the Border Patrol. Troops going to Guantanamo could help prepare the facility for an influx of migrants and do other support duties.
Speaking on “Fox and Friends” on Friday morning, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he believes the US can get “thousands of individuals in tents, secured in places at Guantanamo Bay.”
But he also said there’s the possibility that hardened criminals or violent gang members could also be housed there. As a result, he said the Defence Department is preparing detention facilities at Guantanamo “that are basically supermax prisons” to be used to hold them temporarily.
