U.S President Donald Trump has authorised the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to build a 30,000-person prison centre for undocumented migrants at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
“Most people don’t even know we have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people. Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them, because we don’t want them coming back,” Trump said in remarks delivered from the White House.
According to a copy of the presidential memorandum, Défence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have been directed to “expand the Migrant Operations Centre at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.”
“This memorandum is issued in order to halt the border invasion, dismantle criminal cartels, and restore national sovereignty,” it adds.
Guantanamo is home to an infamous military facility where inmates have been kept and frequently tortured for years in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon revealed that 11 inmates had been transferred to the Gulf nation of Oman, leaving only 15 at the facility.
Three of those who remained were eligible for transfer, while three more were eligible to appear before a review board. Seven are now undergoing military trials, while two have already been convicted and condemned.
Former President Biden had promised to shutter the scandal-plagued military prison, but, like President Barack Obama before him, failed to do so during his term.
