What Role Does Guantanamo Bay Play in Trump's Immigration Crackdown

For two months, about 400 migrants, mostly Venezuelan and Nicaraguan citizens, were held there, awaiting deportation.

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The U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay is staffed by 1,000 government employees, 900 of whom are U.S. military personnel and the rest are immigration agents or contractors. About 400 migrants have been held there for two months.

Two months after President Trump ordered his administration to prepare the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 migrants, nearly 400 migrants are already being held there, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $40 million.

At one point in February, the administration held 178 Venezuelans at the base, the largest group ever held there. The operation was staffed by 1,000 government employees, 900 of whom were U.S. military personnel and the rest were immigration agents or contractors. That meant a ratio of five employees for every migrant in the group.

The Hidden Costs of Detaining Migrants at Guantanamo

Carol Rosenberg explains that everything from fresh fruit to school supplies is delivered to the U.S. Navy base twice a month by barge or plane.

Senior Pentagon officials testified to Congress this week about the operation. Here are some of the things we know so far.

Is Guantanamo ready to accept 30,000 migrants?

ImageCamp 6, where alleged al-Qaida members and sympathizers were once held, is one of the sites at the base the Trump administration is using to house migrants. Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times

No. To hold that many people there, the Pentagon would have to mobilize about 9,000 troops at Guantanamo to support the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducting the operation, Adm. Alvin Halsey, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, told the House Armed Services Committee this week.

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