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US President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of an immigration detention center at the Guantanamo Bay prison that he said would house up to 30,000 people.
He said the facility at the US Navy base in Cuba, which will be separate from its high-security military prison, will house “the worst illegal immigrants who threaten the American people”.
Guantanamo Bay has long been used to detain migrants, a practice that has been criticized by some human rights organizations.
Later Wednesday, Trump’s “border adviser” Tom Homan said the existing facility would be expanded and operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
He said the migrants could be transported there directly after being apprehended at sea by the US Coast Guard, and that “higher” detention standards would apply.
It is not known how much the facility would cost or when it would be completed.
The Cuban government quickly condemned the plan, accusing the US of torture and illegally detaining people on “occupied” land.
Trump’s announcement comes as he signs the so-called Laken Riley bill into law, which requires undocumented immigrants who are arrested for theft or violent crimes to be held in jail pending trial.
By: BBC
