Guantánamo's new frontier: A tent city is rising in Cuba to hold thousands of migrants

The US administration is swiftly implementing President Trump’s directive to transform Guantánamo Bay into a large-scale migrant detention centre following the president’s order to establish a facility capable of holding up to 30,000 deportees.

This move announced on January 29 has already seen 10 migrants labelled as “high-threat individuals” flown to the Cuban base within a week. In a brief statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the detainees as members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison-based gang.

According to various media reports, the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are working to establish the necessary infrastructure to meet the president’s order. However, officials have remained vague about the long-term plans for using Guantánamo Bay as a migrant detention centre.

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While the administration has already started the process, it remains unclear how long Guantánamo Bay will be used for migrant detention or the long-term implications of the policy.

A dozen people were flown from El Paso, Texas to Guantánamo Bay Friday, according to reports. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the first senior Trump administration official to visit the migrant mission at the base, observed the arrival from the rooftop of an aircraft hangar. The detainees, dressed in gray sweat suits and shackled at the wrists and ankles were escorted off a C-130 military cargo plane and into a minibus with blackened windows.

Talking about the administration’s stance, Noem said on social media, “Vicious gang members will no longer have safe haven in our country,” while referring to the detainees as “criminal aliens.” The White House has labelled Tren de Aragua a “transnational criminal organisation” involved in human trafficking and other crimes.

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The detainees are being held in a military prison on the opposite side of the base, rather than in the newly constructed tent city. However, the Pentagon has described this as a “temporary measure,” though it remains unclear how long they will be detained.

The tent city, still under development is set to house migrants deemed lower-risk. During her visit, Noem inspected the facility, observing Marines rehearsing migrant relocation procedures and reviewing basic supplies like T-shirts, shorts and towels for future arrivals. She also toured the site in a Chinook helicopter.

Scrutiny over migrant conditions at Guantánamo Bay

The Trump administration’s plan to use Guantánamo Bay for migrant detention has drawn scrutiny from critics and watchdog groups, who are closely monitoring the treatment and conditions of detainees. The facility, infamous for its role in housing terrorism suspects and allegations of torture during the US war on terror, currently holds 15 prisoners. The Biden administration had previously sought to wind down operations at the base.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had said that migrants at Guantánamo would receive due process, with the same rights as those detained in the US. She also said that the administration does not intend to hold migrants there long-term, adding that the facility would be used per U.S. immigration laws and in collaboration with Congress.

However, some Democratic lawmakers argue that using Guantánamo Bay for migrant detention is a scare tactic to intimidate immigrants. Senator Mark Kelly slammed the move saying “It’s all about scaring and intimidating people. Building a facility there is because it just sounds very frightening to a lot of folks.”