US transfers 22 Cuban migrants to Guantanamo Bay for deportation: Report

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US transferred 22 Cuban migrants to its naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, despite a federal judge ruling that the administration exceeded its authority in holding migrants at the facility, according to a report on Tuesday.

The men, believed to be the first Cuban citizens sent to the base since January, arrived on Sunday via an ICE air charter from Louisiana, The New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

ICE has held about 730 men at Guantanamo, mostly from Latin American countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, and Venezuela, according to the report.

Five of the latest arrivals were classified as “high-threat illegal aliens” while the remainder will stay in dormitory-style housing used for Caribbean migrants seeking asylum, the daily reported, citing an unnamed Department of Defense official.

Guantanamo is home to the infamous military prison where prisoners have been held, and often subject to torture, for years in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the US.

Trump announced in January that he planned to use the detention facility to transfer undocumented migrants.

A federal judge in Washington recently ruled that the Trump administration exceeded its authority in holding migrants at Guantanamo.

Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have warned about potential human rights violations at Guantanamo and called for immediate access for legal advocates to ensure due process and transparency.