"The Worst of the Worst": Trump Administration Commences Detention Flights to Guantánamo Bay

On Tuesday (February 4), the Trump administration sent the first flight of detained migrants on military aircraft from the United States to the naval base in Guantánamo 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. "Guantánamo Bay will hold the worst of the worst," Noem wrote. "That starts today."

Trump announced last week that he would direct the U.S. Department of Defense 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 began 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 Guantánamo. The base is known for holding suspects accused of terrorism in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Advocates have pressed for it to be shut down, citing human-rights violations.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed flights were taking place during a segment on Fox Business on Tuesday. "The first flights from the United States to Guantánamo 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 whether women, children, and families would be detained at Guantánamo Bay but 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," she said during the interview. "The priority of this president is to go after criminal aliens that are making our streets more dangerous."

While Guantánamo Bay has been used in the past to detain migrants, its main purpose had been to intercept refugees fleeing from Cuba and Haiti during the 1990s, not to transport people away from U.S. soil.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for details as to where the flights departed from, how many detained migrants were on board the C-17 military jet, and whether they were officially classified as criminals.

Editor's note: New Times occasionally shares articles from the Florida Phoenix, part of the nonprofit States Newsroom network. Contact the Florida Phoenix at [email protected] or follow the site on Facebook and X.