Trump Admin Returns All Migrants Detained In Guantanamo Back To U.S. As Logistical And Economic Challenges Mount

The Trump administration has flown all remaining migrants held at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station back to the United States, a Defense Department official confirmed. The 40 men were transported to Louisiana, where they are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It remains unclear why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chose to bring these migrants back to the United States after the costs incurred in flying them to Guantánamo in the first place, as The Washington Post reports. The latest transfer was conducted using ICE Air, a more cost-effective alternative to the military flights that had previously been used for transporting migrants to the naval base.

Since President Donald Trump took office in January, nearly 300 migrants have been detained at Guantánamo as part of an initiative to significantly increase deportations. The administration has utilized the base to house migrants, with the largest single group—177 Venezuelan men—being deported on February 20.

Two Democratic members of Congress who recently visited Guantánamo said that officials had requested migrants with medical conditions and behavioral issues not be sent to the base. Earlier this week, 23 of the 40 remaining detainees had been classified as "high threat" and were held in the military detention facility, while the remaining 17 were housed at the Migrant Operations Center, according to a Pentagon official.

Although the Trump administration had initially planned to expand the use of Guantánamo to detain up to 30,000 undocumented immigrants, logistical and financial concerns have undermined the feasibility of the proposal.

Moreover, a report from the New York Times shows that actual figures are far from that goal. Current capacity allows for the detention of 225 people at a time, less than 1% of the figure given by the Trump administration.

According to another report by NBC News report published on March 8, transporting detainees to the base has proven costly, with military flights averaging between $207,000 and $249,000 per round trip. In addition, the infrastructure at Guantánamo is not equipped to house large numbers of detainees, as temporary facilities lack air conditioning, running water, and other basic necessities.

Additionally, the legal landscape surrounding the administration's Guantánamo migrant operations has been contentious for weeks as The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other advocacy groups have filed multiple lawsuits challenging the detention and transfer of migrants to the base.

In early March, civil rights attorneys, led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed a lawsuit against the administration to prevent the transfer of ten individuals from the U.S. to Guantanamo, calling it "a living hell." The lawsuit followed another legal challenge from early February which alleged that detainees were being held without access to legal counsel or communication.