President Donald Trump announced plans on Wednesday to construct a 30,000-bed detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, aiming to house immigrants targeted in his intensified deportation efforts.
Speaking at the White House before signing the Laken Riley Act, which is expected to increase the number of immigrants held for minor offenses, Trump stated that the new facility would detain “the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people” and be “a tough place to get out of.”
The Guantánamo Bay base currently operates a migrant facility separate from its high-security prison for terrorism suspects. The proposed expansion would significantly increase the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention capacity, which currently accommodates about 40,000 individuals nationwide. The largest existing facilities house approximately 2,000 detainees, making the planned Guantánamo site unprecedented in scale.
In a memorandum issued on January 29, 2025, Trump directed the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to “take all appropriate actions to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity.” The directive aims to “halt the border invasion, dismantle criminal cartels, and restore national sovereignty.”
The announcement has sparked criticism from human rights advocates and international observers, who express concerns over the treatment of detainees and the facility’s remote location, which could limit access to legal representation. The Cuban government has also condemned the move, calling it a violation of international law.
As the administration moves forward with these plans, questions remain about the logistics of housing such a large number of detainees, the costs involved, and the potential legal challenges that may arise.
