WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has ordered the expansion of the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity to detain high-priority criminal migrants, according to a memorandum released Wednesday.
The directive instructs the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to increase detention space at the facility as part of broader immigration enforcement measures. The order aims to address what Trump called a “border invasion” and to combat criminal cartels operating in the United States.
“I hereby direct 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 memorandum states. Officials have not provided specific figures on the facility’s current capacity or the projected expansion.
Trump mentioned the figure of 30,000 beds, but this has not been confirmed by any other agency at this point.
The Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo Bay has historically been used to house migrants intercepted at sea, but Trump’s order would shift its focus to detaining criminal noncitizens already present in the U.S. The administration has not yet detailed how detainees would be selected for transfer or how long they would remain at the facility.
The move marks a significant escalation in Trump’s immigration policy as his administration prioritizes strict enforcement measures to curb illegal immigration and criminal activity.
