Trump Signs Memorandum Preparing Guantanamo Bay to Hold 30,000 Migrants

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced plans to hold up to 30,000 unauthorized migrants awaiting deportation at the Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) naval base. He later signed a memorandum directing the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare for this.

The Details: Before signing the Laken Riley Act, Trump remarked, “Most people don't even know that 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." On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Katherine Leavitt clarified the Trump administration’s stance on unauthorized immigrants, saying, "Migrants who are here illegally are criminals, as far as this administration is concerned.”

The Context: Gitmo housed terrorism suspects during the U.S. War on Terror, and the Clinton administration formerly detained Haitian and Cuban migrants at the base. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who served as an army officer at Gitmo, assured that Trump is referring to special facilities for migrants rather than “the detention facilities (where he served) for Al Qaeda.”

How the Media Covered It: ABC News (Lean Left bias) addressed Trump’s remarks and Hegseth’s appearance on Fox News’ "The Will Cain Show,” where he expanded on Trump’s memorandum. Newsweek (Center) contextualized the announcement within the immigration reform and high number of deportations Trump has already initiated. Fox News (Right) added a tweet from Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel calling the plans an “act of brutality.”