Migrants boarding a military flight to Guantánamo Bay earlier this year. All 40 illegal migrants held at the Guantánamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba have been sent back to the United States and are now being held in Louisiana, two U.S. defense officials told Fox News. (Department of Homeland Security)
The U.S. defense officials were not told why the 40 migrants were sent back to the United States, and Homeland Security and ICE have not yet responded to any inquiries about why they were sent back and where in Louisiana they are being held.
It is unclear if the U.S. will continue to hold migrants at the base, commonly known as "Gitmo." None of the 195 tents that were set up to hold migrants have been used because they do not meet ICE standards, according to several U.S. defense officials, such as having air conditioning and other amenities.
In late January, President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to prepare 30,000 beds at the base to house "criminal illegal aliens" who pose a threat to the American public, adding that putting them there would ensure they do not come back. The president said the move would bring the U.S. one step closer to "eradicating the scourge" of migrant crime in communities, once and for all.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with troops at the base last month. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. ShaTyra Cox)
News of the migrants being sent to Louisiana comes as President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in an effort to pave the way for faster mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
Trump will use the law to target members of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, the New York Post reported, citing two sources close to the administration.
Trump campaigned on invoking the wartime law, which allows the president to detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy nation.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/all-illegal-migrants-held-guantanamo-bay-cuba-have-been-sent-louisiana