WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday sent the first flight of detained migrants on military aircraft from the United States to the naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as President Donald Trump continues high-profile displays of his immigration crackdown.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted photos on social media of men in handcuffs and chains, being escorted by immigration officials dressed in tactical military gear.
“Guantanamo Bay will hold the worst of the worst,” Noem wrote. “That starts today.”
Trump announced last week that he would direct the Defense Department to use the migrant detention center on the base to detain up to 30,000 people who lack U.S. legal status. It would nearly double the current bed space that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has funding for across the nation, which is roughly 41,500.
More than 150 U.S. Marines and U.S. Army members started arriving at the base over the weekend, the U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs Office said in a press release. More than 300 military personnel are already stationed at the base.
The base is known for holding suspects accused of terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Advocates have pressed for the base to be shut down, citing human rights violations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed flights were taking place Tuesday during a segment on Fox Business.
“The first flights from the United States to Guantanamo Bay with illegal migrants are underway,” she said, adding that the president is “not messing around.”
During a Sunday interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Noem was asked if women, children and families would be detained at Guantanamo Bay, but Noem would not address the question.
“You know, if you look at what we are doing today of targeting the worst of the worst, we’ve been very clear on that,” Noem said during the interview. “The priority of this president is to go after criminal aliens that are making our streets more dangerous.”
While Guantanamo Bay has been used in the past to detain migrants, it’s usually been to intercept refugees fleeing from Cuba and Haiti during the 1990s, not used to transport people from within the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to States Newsroom’s request on where the flights departed from or how many detained migrants were on board the C-17 military jet, and if they had a criminal status.
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