Five U.S. senators, following their tour of the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, criticized the government's approach to detaining migrants there, calling it a misuse of federal resources. The Pentagon's estimates revealed that the operation had cost approximately $40 million during its first month. The Senate delegation, which included Senator Jack Reed from New Hampshire, visited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities holding around 85 migrants, some detained in a facility previously used for wartime detainees linked to Al Qaeda.
The government has transferred fewer than 400 men, primarily Venezuelans, to the base since earlier this year. Amid rising scrutiny, authorities have returned almost half of these migrants to U.S. facilities without clear explanations for their initial transfers to Guantánamo. As of the latest report, 105 immigration detainees remained at the site. Senator Reed expressed concern about the administration's decision, suggesting it diverted troops from their essential military missions to manage this migrant operation, raising broader questions about the efficiency and morality of using a military facility for immigration enforcement.
