Trump’s plan to send migrants to Guantanamo hits first legal obstacles
A New Mexico judge has preemptively blocked the transfer of three Venezuelan migrants considered at risk of being relocated to the US naval base in Cuba
Once again, the courts have placed themselves between Donald Trump and the implementation of his plans and orders. A federal judge in New Mexico, Kenneth Gonzales, has issued a temporary order to prevent three Venezuelan immigrants being held in a Customs and Border Control (ICE) detention center from being transferred to the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. The Republican magnate wants to build a large facility at the base to house irregular migrants that he cannot deport to their countries of origin. Groups of deportees have been arriving on the island since last week.
The case of the three Venezuelans is very specific and, therefore, hardly applicable to the situations of many other irregular migrants who have been detained. But it does highlight the multiple legal problems faced by the presidential order to transfer undocumented people to a place with one of the most sinister reputations on Earth.
The U.S. naval base is home to Guantanamo Bay prison, established after the 9/11 attacks to hold “enemy combatants” in George W. Bush’s war on terror, and where torture and widespread human rights abuses were committed. It once held more than 200 Muslim prisoners. Today 15 inmates remain, only two of whom have been tried and convicted.
The three Venezuelan plaintiffs, who say they left their home country seeking protection, already have a separate lawsuit pending in New Mexico challenging their continued detention at the Otero County Processing Center, which they say is unlawful. As such, they were already represented by attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights, a civil rights NGO.
The trio reportedly recognized some of their fellow inmates from the Otero detention center in the photos and videos of prisoners transferred to Guantanamo that have been circulating in the press and on social media in recent days. As their own profile was similar to that of their former colleagues, they felt that they too were at risk of being sent to the military base. They therefore asked their lawyers to take the initiative and petition the courts to have their transfer blocked before it took place.
“I am afraid of being taken to Guantanamo because the news portrays it as a black hole… I also see that human rights are constantly violated in Guantanamo, so I am afraid of what could happen to me if they take me there,” said one of the petitioners, Abraham Barrios Morales, in statements collected by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Another of the detainees, Luis Pérez Parra, claims that he has seen on the news that it is a maximum-security prison. “I am afraid of how they will treat me there or that I will be tortured, that I will not be able to communicate with my family or know when I will be able to leave.” This migrant also recalls that the media has broadcast images of those transferred to the naval base.
The lawyers for the three have strongly criticized the possibility of their clients being transferred to Guantanamo, pointing out they have not committed any serious crime — crossing the border illegally is an administrative offense — but have been deprived of their freedom for months. They were intercepted some time ago, but have not been able to be returned to Venezuela due to the poor relations between Washington and Caracas, due to which the regime of Nicolás Maduro did not accept repatriation flights for its deported nationals. Caracas lifted this refusal a week ago after a visit by Trump’s special envoy, Richard Grenell.
“Transferring people from the Otero County Center, where we can normally access our clients, to an overseas prison thousands of miles from their legal counsel is appalling. Our clients have already endured prolonged detention and due process violations for months. The Trump administration is using a facility notorious for torture to unnecessarily intimidate and terrorize migrants like our clients, who simply want to reunite with their families and loved ones in the United States,” said Zoe Bowman, a prosecutor with the Las Americas Immigrant Defense Center in New Mexico.
Since Trump announced his plan two weeks ago to send up to 30,000 irregular migrants to Guantanamo, human rights organizations have denounced the initiative as a step of dubious legality. The presidential instructions urged the Department of Homeland Security to “provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal immigrants illegally present in the United States.”
The organizations point out that, in itself, the transfer of irregular migrants to a territory outside the United States to be held there indefinitely presents serious legal problems. They also denounce that, once at the base, the migrants will have serious problems accessing their lawyers, if they have them, or obtaining legal representation if they do not. It is also unclear whether they would have access to any kind of social services.
Guantanamo, home to nearly 6,000 people, is connected to the United States by a weekly military flight, which supplies the facility with fresh food, and a ship that arrives twice a month with the rest of the naval base’s material needs.
On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) demanded that access be granted to migrants being taken to Guantanamo on military flights. The ACLU denounced that the Trump administration has provided little information about the identities or status of these people.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, has provided very few details about the migrants sent to the base. The first flight, with about 10 people on board, arrived at Guantanamo last week. DHS says the 10 people are suspected members of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua, but has not provided details about the individual cases. It also declined to say whether the people are accused of any crime or have criminal records. It is estimated that after the first 10, about 40 more migrants have arrived at the base.
Last week, the Trump administration announced the withdrawal of temporary protected status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States. This status is granted to citizens of countries affected by natural or other disasters. TPS allows its beneficiaries to work legally in the U.S. and protects them from the threat of deportation. Other countries also benefit from this program, including El Salvador, Guatemala, and Haiti.
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