Sources have informed NBC News that the Trump administration has transported all migrants previously held at Guantánamo Bay out of the facility.
Following a lawsuit, it was disclosed by the Trump administration that there were 178 migrants, all from Venezuela, in Guantánamo Bay as of early Thursday.
An official from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mentioned that 177 of the 178 migrants were deported on Thursday, while the remaining individual was relocated to a detention facility within the U.S.
On the same day, Honduras’ foreign ministry stated that it had accepted a flight carrying what it described as 174 Venezuelan migrants from the U.S., who would then be returned to Venezuela.
The DHS official suggested that the differences in numbers reported by the Trump administration and Honduras might just be a matter of discrepancy.
Honduras’ foreign minister shared a photo of the plane used to transport the migrants, with a tail number matching a flight from Guantánamo to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on that Thursday, as reported by FlightRadar24.com.
The Trump administration had previously highlighted the transfer of migrants to Guantánamo, asserting it would be sending the “worst of the worst.”
According to the senior DHS official, there are plans to send additional migrants to Guantánamo, which is being considered a “staging area” for relocating migrants to other countries. However, two sources familiar with the situation indicated that DHS has requested the Department of Defense (DOD) to explore alternative locations, including Fort Bliss in Texas.
This removal prompts renewed discussions regarding the rights of immigrants once detained at Guantánamo Bay. Lawyers representing immigrant rights groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking in-person access to detainees and a 72-hour advance notice before flights carrying migrants to or from Guantánamo would depart.
In their response, Justice Department lawyers defending the Trump administration contended that migrants could seek to communicate with lawyers via phone, argued that providing notice would infringe on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s operational authority, and claimed that the administration could detain immigrants in Guantánamo Bay for more than six months, despite previous court orders stating that ICE detention should not exceed six months and that detention standards should be non-punitive.
Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney for the ACLU contesting the Trump administration in the lawsuit, stated to NBC News: “We need to confirm what kind of phone access will be provided and ensure it is substantial. We will also pursue in-person access where it is necessary.”
“It is certainly ironic that they are now claiming phone access while our clients appear to have been removed,” Gelernt added.
In its response to the lawsuit claiming 178 immigrants were in Guantánamo, the Trump administration also specified where these individuals were being held. It reported that 127 were confined in Camp VI, a high-security detention facility typically designated for individuals accused of terrorism, while another 51 were held at the Migrant Operation Center, an existing facility previously used for migrants intercepted at sea.
Didi Martinez and Gabe Gutierrez contributed.
