US Holding Migrants In Prison That Once Held Al Qaeda, ISIS Terrorists

The Donald Trump administration has transferred 10 migrants with suspected gang ties to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - a facility known for housing terrorism suspects.

The detainees, linked to the Venezuelan gang 'Tren de Aragua', are being held in a vacant section of the prison, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The prison is near a maximum-security facility that houses all wartime detainees, including those accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks.

"These 10 high-threat individuals are currently being housed in vacant detention facilities," the Defence Department said in a statement. "The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is taking this measure to ensure the safe and secure detention of these individuals until they can be transported to their country of origin or other appropriate destination."

The Pentagon's disclosure comes as US forces prepare a separate tent city for deportees at the base, in line with President Trump's directive to expand immigration enforcement. Officials deemed these 10 individuals too dangerous for the migrant site and placed them in a vacant section of the military prison. "Flights to Guantanamo Bay have begun," US Customs and Border Protection announced on X, alongside a video of the men being loaded onto an Air Force C-17 in El Paso, Texas. "The worst of the worst have no place in our homeland."

Flights to Guantanamo Bay have begun. The worst of the worst have no place in our homeland. pic.twitter.com/RM2ruAtrFl

— CBP (@CBP) February 5, 2025

Approximately 40,000 migrants are currently in detention across private prisons and local jails. Trump has hinted that Guantanamo could double its overall detention capacity as part of his immigration crackdown. He has also proposed classifying criminal cartels as terrorist organisations to expedite deportations and plans to invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to bypass immigration courts and swiftly remove alleged gang members without due process, Reuters reported.

His administration has already enacted sweeping immigration measures, including closing the US asylum system for those without documentation, deploying the military for deportations, and broadening ICE's authority to target all unauthorised migrants, including those without criminal records.

Trump's policies have also restricted legal pathways for refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Venezuela.

The crackdown is not limited to Latin America. On Wednesday, a US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian migrants deported from the US landed in Amritsar. The migrants, who attempted to enter the US illegally, were reportedly shackled and chained during the flight.

Many of these migrants endured dangerous routes, including mountains, dense forests, and treacherous waters, only to be caught by the US Border Patrol. Some migrants recounted witnessing dead bodies along the way.