The use of the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba to hold undocumented migrants has been a waste of federal funds, according to a military report submitted to Congress. Between January 20 and April 8, the Trump administration spent $21 million on flights to the base in Cuba, where an estimated 32 migrants are being held.
Although some sources put the number as high as 60, the occupancy rate is far below the 30,000 migrants the president announced he would house.
The data, which emerged in response to questions from Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, indicates that the U.S. Transportation Command, a Department of Defense unit, conducted a total of 46 flights on military aircraft “in support of migrant deportation flights” to Guantanamo Bay, totaling 802 hours and costing an average of $26,277 per flight hour.
“All Americans should be outraged by Donald Trump’s squandering of military resources to fund his political maneuvers that do nothing to make us safer,” Senator Warren said. “The U.S. military had no intention of participating in this abuse of power.”
In January, President Trump ordered his administration to use the US naval base as a migrant detention center. He claimed the “worst offenders” would be held there as part of his crackdown on immigration. Since then, few details about the flights, including their costs, have been released.
According to the data released, 31 flights transported 715 passengers and 1,016.9 tons of supplies and maintenance equipment for Operation Southern Guard. In addition, a dozen flights were contracted with private companies to assist with immigration operations.
In just a couple of months, Atlas Air, Delta, Omni Air, United Airlines, and Sun Country earned more than $1.6 billion for flying to Guantánamo Bay to assist with immigration operations.
For decades, the naval base’s Migration Operations Center was used to temporarily house migrants rescued at sea, risking their lives on unsafe boats from Cuba, Haiti, or other nearby countries.
Guantánamo, where suspected terrorists were held for decades without trial, became notorious for the inhumane conditions in which prisoners were kept.
Trump sought to restore activity to the prison, which had fallen into disuse and was in poor condition, with Operation Southern Guard, directed by the Department of Homeland Security and involving officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Army.
Shortly after his return to the White House, the president ordered the military to expand it to house up to 30,000 migrants facing deportation from the United States. Within weeks, some 1,000 troops were sent to Guantánamo to build tents. The tents did not meet ICE standards, were never used, and are now being dismantled.
Since February, approximately 500 people identified by the Administration as undocumented migrants have been transferred to Guantanamo Bay, most of whom have been detained for less than two weeks.
According to The New York Times , there are approximately 725 employees at the naval base, mostly uniformed military personnel and marines, of whom 100 were ICE security agents. This means there are more than 22 military personnel and agents for each migrant.
This isn’t the first time Democratic congressmen have denounced the wasteful use of detainees at the Cuban naval base. Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed led a trip to Guantánamo with other senators , including Alex Padilla of California, in late March.
“After examining the migrant relocation activities at Guantánamo Bay, we are outraged by the magnitude and wastefulness of the Trump administration’s misuse of our Armed Forces.”
“It is clear that Guantánamo Bay is likely an illegal and certainly illogical place to detain immigrants. Its use appears designed to undermine due process and evade legal scrutiny,” he declared after the visit.
What occurs inside Guantanamo has always been kept secret, and Reed has already noted that it’s unclear who is legally responsible for the migrants held there. ICE maintains custody, but the detention center is controlled by the Army.
Last month, migrant advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit on behalf of two detained Nicaraguans, alleging a climate of “extreme fear and intimidation” that interferes with their constitutional rights to due process and legal counsel. The lawyers asked a federal judge in Washington to intervene on behalf of all migrants sent to Guantanamo.