US homeland secretary plans to visit Guantanamo

7/2/2025 6:22

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary

Kristi Noem plans to visit a migrant detention site in

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the Trump administration ramps up

enforcement efforts, a department spokesperson said on Thursday.

The first group of about 10 migrants was sent to Guantanamo Bay

on a military aircraft on Tuesday. A second flight departed the

U.S. on Thursday, a U.S. official said.

The Trump administration said the initial flight carried alleged

members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua but did not

provide details about specific charges or convictions. Some

critics say the deportations to Guantanamo are illegal and that

detainees may not have adequate access to attorneys.

Trump, a Republican, recaptured the White House promising a

broad immigration crackdown and record deportations. He has

taken steps to make it easier for U.S. Immigration and Customs

Enforcement (ICE) officers to arrest non-criminals and tapped

the military to provide resources for deportations and border

security.

Jim Mattis, Trump's first defense secretary, made a rare visit

to the Guantanamo Bay naval base in 2017, the first at the time

by a defense secretary since 2002. No other defense secretary

has visited the base since then.

The Trump administration has sought to expand immigration

detention beyond the 41,500-bed capacity currently funded by the

U.S. Congress, including plans to house up to 30,000 migrants at

Guantanamo Bay and to ease federal detention standards to

encourage more sheriffs to provide jail space.

Trump's border czar Tom Homan told reporters at the White House

on Thursday that some migrants arrested in recent ICE operations

have been released but did not provide figures.

"I've been told that some were released because of some health

concerns that we could not handle within ICE detention," Homan

said, according to a pool report. "I have a meeting with ICE

leadership today to find out exactly who was released and why."