Senate Democrats slam Trump's 'unlawful' transfer of migrants to Guantanamo Bay

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Senate Democrats on Monday slammed President Donald Trump’s "unlawful" transfer of migrants to the US Naval station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In a letter to Trump, the senators, led by Dick Durbin, called the move "unprecedented, unlawful and harmful to American national security, values and interests."

"There is no basis in U.S. immigration law for transferring noncitizens arrested inside the United States to a location outside of the United States for detention prior to or for the purpose of conducting removal proceedings," they wrote.

They also raised concern that the Trump administration did not consider the "serious legal concerns or have any plan to address them" prior to transferring noncitizens from the US to Guantanamo.

Last month, Trump ordered the construction of a detention camp at Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 of the "worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people."

The White House has since begun flying undocumented migrants -- labeled as a "high threat" and "criminals" -- to the detention center in Cuba as part of Trump’s mass deportation plan.