Trump Announces Reopening of Guantanamo Bay Facility To Detain 'The Worst Criminal Illegal Aliens'

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday the U.S. will take steps toward reopening a detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants.

"I'm Signing an executive order to instruct the departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay. We have 30,000 beds to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people," Trump said at the White House.

"Some of them we don't trust the countries to hold them because we don't want them coming back. This will double our capacity immediately. It's a tough place to get out of," he added. Trump made the announcement before signing the Laken Riley Act into law, which will allow the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes like theft, burglary, or shoplifting. Trump described the law as a "landmark" one and a "tremendous tribute" to Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan undocumented immigrant last year while jogging.

Those targeted to be sent to Guantanamo will be migrants who are living unlawfully in the United States but cannot be deported to their home countries.

According to the Miami Herald, the U.S. currently operates a facility where Haitians and Cubans interdicted at sea wait for their asylum claims to be solved. It is run by the State Department with the assistance of the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon.

The facility came under scrutiny last year as a report by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) has also revealed complaints about inhumane treatment there. omplaints say the migrants held there face inadequate healthcare, deteriorating living quarters, and limited access to confidential legal communication. The report calls for the closure of the facility, citing violations of U.S. legal commitments and human rights standards.

A spokesperson from the Department of State refuted the report's claims, stating that migrants receive appropriate food, healthcare, and access to recreational activities, along with the ability to work and attend social and religious events "The claim that migrants housed at the Migrant Operations Center (MOC) are 'detainees' and they lived there in 'prison-like conditions and had their rights violated' are false," added the spokesperson.

A recent report by The Washington Post shed light on the amount of migrants hailing from countries who won't take them back. Cuba, China, Venezuela, and India account for some of the highest numbers of deportable people but accept only a fraction. Since 2005, Cuba has taken back just 4,662 of its 42,084 deportable citizens. China and Venezuela show similarly low acceptance rates. In this regard, there are 22,749 deportable Venezuelans in the U.S., but the country has only accepted 5,862 people in the past 20 years.

However, there are some countries reportedly willing to take deportees from third countries. One of them is El Salvador, which is negotiating conditions with the Trump administration.

Concretely, the governments are working on an agreement for the Central American nation to be designated as a "safe third country." It would entail it taking migrants from other countries and prevent them from requesting asylum in the U.S.

Among the plan's provisions is the possibility for the U.S. to send suspected members of Venezuelan-born gang Tren de Aragua, which has repeatedly made headlines during the past months, especially after Trump singled it out to illustrate his claims about perils of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

It is unclear how the Bukele administration would handle the alleged criminals, but the country has heavily cracked down on the domestic-born MS-13, incarcerating tens of thousands of people in mega-prisons throughout the country.

Another country seemingly open to take deportees from third countries is Guatemala, as the administration of Bernardo Arevalo de Leon seeks to have smooth relations with Trump.

Concretely, Guatemala would receive citizens from other Central American nations, which constitute a large portion of those making their way up north. "We want to be part of the solution," a Guatemalan official who requested anonymity told Reuters in December.