Welcome to The Logoff. Donald Trump's baseless accusations surrounding the Washington, DC, plane crash made headlines, but we promised you we’d focus on what he does that matters most, so today's edition is about Trump’s plan to send detainees to Guantánamo.
What just happened? Trump on Wednesday ordered the expansion of an immigrant detention facility at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, saying it could be used to house up to 30,000 migrants. According to the Washington Post, that would make it by far the largest ICE detention facility. Administration officials said they planned to use the facility as a temporary holding facility for deported immigrants — particularly violent criminals — before they’re sent to other countries.
Guantánamo — the prison for suspected terrorists? The immigrant detention facility is separate from the Pentagon prison, though they’re both located around Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.
So what’s new here? The plans for a dramatic expansion of the facility are new, but migrants are already detained in Guantánamo and have been for decades. During the Clinton administration, as many as 45,000 migrants were housed there, though now the population is much smaller: Drop Site News reported the facility’s current maximum capacity at around 400.
Can Trump do this? He’ll need help from Congress, which would have to approve the spending to expand the facility's capacity. He’ll also likely need help from the courts, as critics are promising to sue over the plan.
What are critics worried about? Migrant rights advocates say the facility is a legally murky area where current detainees have few rights. They also fear that a rapid expansion of the detainee population could cause deteriorating conditions for the people held there, opening up the possibility of violence and mistreatment.
What’s the big picture? The Guantánamo plan demonstrates that the administration is looking to greatly expand its capacity to house detainees, part of a broader plan — along with ICE arresting more undocumented immigrants — to mobilize a mass deportation campaign.
