US President Donald Trump presented an unexpected plan Wednesday to jail thousands of undocumented migrants in Guantanamo Bay, diverting attention away from the White House’s abrupt action to suspend federal finances. Trump said he had authorised the creation of a detention camp for up to 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens” at the notorious military station on Cuba’s eastern edge, which has been used to jail terrorism suspects since the 9/11 attacks.
The proposal strengthens Trump’s promised crackdown on illegal immigration in his second term, as well as a parallel attempt to alter the US government in his right-wing image. That greater purpose was hampered when the White House caused uncertainty by withdrawing a document demanding a hold on trillions of dollars in federal funds, only to declare minutes later that Trump’s plan was still in “full force.”
As he signed a law at the White House allowing the pre-trial custody of migrants charged with theft or violence, Trump stated that the Guantanamo proposal will “bring us onestep closer to eradicating the scourge of migrant crime.” “We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” said the Republican, who added that it would “double our capacity immediately” to house unauthorised migrants.
The Guantanamo Bay facility currently houses 15 detainees from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, as well as additional activities launched in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. At its peak, around 800 people were imprisoned there, prompting considerable condemnation from human rights activists. Pete Hegseth, the newly sworn-in Defence Secretary, said FoxNews that migrants will not be detained where the surviving 9/11 detainees are and that agolfcourse may be utilised to develop facilities.
Cuba condemned Trump’s move as a “act of brutality.” The number of migrants in US custody may increase considerably as a result of the bipartisan bill signed by Trump on Wednesday, his first since returning to the White House.
The Laken Riley Act is named after a 22-year-old US nursing student who was murdered by an undocumented Venezuelan migrant who had been arrested twice before her death but was later released. “Her name will also live forever in the laws of our country,” Trump stated during the signing event, which was attended by her parents. Trump’s high-profile Guantanamo statement came shortly after another White House plot went awry.
As part of his crusade to downsize government — and abolish entire portions — Trump ordered the freezing late Monday of possibly trillions of dollars in grants and loans for programs such as health insurance for millions of low-income Americans. The decision, announced in an order from the White House Office of Management and Budget, prompted immediate anxiety and uncertainty until a US judge imposed a temporary injunction.
Following the outrage, the White House Office of Management and Budget released a short letter on Wednesday, stating that the aid freeze order had been “rescinded.” Soon after, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that only the budget office memo had been cancelled, not Trump’s plan. Other instructions signed last week directing agencies to eliminate “woke” expenditure remained in effect, she added.
“This is NOT a rescinding of the federal funding freeze,” which is still in effect, she stated on X. She stated in a second statement that the letter had been retracted to “end any confusion” after the judge halted it. Democrats accuse Trump of constitutional overreach for attempting to halt expenditure already approved by Congress, which controls the US budget. Trump’s plan to rid the workforce of unsupportive officials took another drastic step Tuesday, when he offered most federal employees the option of leaving their employment in exchange for eight months’ severance.
Trump doubled down Wednesday, stating that any government employee who fails to halt work-from-home and return to the office by February 6 “will be terminated.”
The administration is also continuing to deprive Trump opponents of their security information. Former top US military commander Mark Milley became the latest, having his security detail and clearance revoked by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon announced.
