Report: White House Mulls Holding Haitian Migrants at Guantanamo Bay

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Facts

  • According to a US official, the Biden administration is considering using the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba as a processing center for Haitian migrants, should there be a mass exodus from the gang-violence-ridden Caribbean nation.1
  • The plan would reportedly include expanding the bay's existing migrant center, which is located 200 miles from Haiti and is separate from the military prison that holds dozens of terrorist suspects.2
  • While the Department of Homeland Security claims 'irregular migration flows through the Caribbean' currently 'remain low,' the government is working on a plan for intercepting possible migrants who may attempt to travel to Florida by sea.3
  • This follows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' decision to deploy 250 additional National Guardsmen and law enforcement officers, along with aircraft and boats, to his state's southern coast a day after the US Coast Guard returned 65 Haitians to their home country.4
  • Guantanamo has housed migrants intercepted at sea for over three decades, with the government in 2010 having prepared the Naval base for potential incoming Haitians following an earthquake. In 2022, the Biden administration considered using it to hold Haitians fleeing gang violence.2
  • An estimated 80% of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince has been taken over by gangs, leaving over 300K displaced and prompting Prime Minister Ariel Henry to pledge to resign. US Marines have been deployed to secure the US embassy in Port-au-Prince after non-essential personnel were evacuated.3

Sources: 1Daily Mail, 2New York Post, 3CNN and 4Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by The Advocates for Human Rights. While Biden should be welcoming all Haitians fleeing from gang violence, health crises, and poverty, he shouldn't be doing so via Guantanamo Bay. Having previously been used for anti-Black immigration schemes under presidents H.W. Bush and Clinton, Guantanamo is a place for terrorists, not refugees. The military-run detention center island also lacks sufficient access to refugee resources and rights observers. Biden should break away from America's history of racist immigration policies and bring these refugees directly, and safely, to the US.
  • Right narrative, as provided by CIS.org. Biden should, at the very least, intercept these Haitians and bring them to Guantanamo. As the 2024 election looms, the president faces a paramount decision: either treat the incoming boats of migrants the same as those coming through the land border — which has been to accept everyone — or immediately block the first wave of arrivals, thus sending a message to future migrants that the trip isn't worth it. As most Americans have now seen the failure of Biden's come-one-come-all policy, he'd best acknowledge their concerns and tighten the immigration system.

Predictions