DHS says it 'is not and will not send' the Haitian migrants in Texas to Guantanamo Bay
The Homeland Security Department is soliciting bids from contractors to "erect temporary housing facilities for populations that exceed 120 and up to 400 migrants in a surge event" at the U.S. base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and "at least 10 percent of the augmented personnel must be fluent in Spanish and Haitian Creole," NBC News reports. Government records show that Guantánamo Bay, which has been used to house terrorism suspects since 2001, also has a more obscure immigrant holding facility that "will have an estimated daily population of 20 people."
DHS told NBC News that, despite its inference, the Biden administration "is not and will not send Haitian nationals being encountered at the southwest border to the Migrant Operations Center (MOC) in Guantánamo Bay. The MOC has been used for decades to process migrants interdicted at sea for third-country resettlement. The request for information (RFI) recently posted is a typical, routine first step in a contract renewal, and unrelated to the Southwest Border."
The Guantánamo contract, first awarded in 2002, ends in April 2022," DHS added, and "migrants awaiting resettlement who are not in ICE custody at the MOC are neither detained nor imprisoned and are free at any time to return to their country of origin."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"During the George H.W. Bush administration from 1991 to 1993, when many Haitians sought to flee the country to seek asylum in Florida, as many as 12,000 were sent to Guantánamo Bay under a policy overseen by then-Attorney General William Barr," NBC News notes.
Now, thousands of Haitian migrants have amassed under an international bridge between Del Rio, Texas, and Mexico, putting "the Biden administration in the exact place it's tried to avoid: knee deep in immigration politics," Politico reports. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas highlights that the U.S. is flying hundreds of the migrants back to Haiti, drawing rebukes from President Biden's fellow Democrats. But DHS has also released hundreds of the Haitians into the U.S. with orders to report to court for asylum hearings, The Associated Press reports.
Most of the Haitians had been living in Chile, Brazil, and other South American countries since fleeing Haiti after a 2010 earthquake, AP reports. They saw or were sent detailed instructions on how to get to the U.S. border on WhatsApp, Facebook, and other social media apps, sometimes from relatives and other times from human smugglers looking to drum up business.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Is international law falling apart?
Today's Big Question Conflict in Gaza is testing the strength of the two intergovernmental courts in The Hague
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week Junior newsletter
Spark new conversations with your child - every week
By The Week Published
-
'Florida's abortion law leads to "chaos"'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coming to America
Opinion Why the melting pot should be a source of national pride
By Theunis Bates Published
-
'Presidential debates are more performance art than actual ways to inform'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published