Why Migrants Are Being Sent to Guantánamo

Introducing an ongoing series examining how new policies impact the people CVT serves.

Here’s What You Need to Know

Guantánamo Bay is back in the headlines—but not for the reasons you might expect. On January 29, President Trump signed an order expanding the use of Guantánamo’s Migrant Operations Center (MOC) to transfer and detain migrants from the U.S. The first flight carrying migrants arrived just days later. Close to 100 people have already been transferred.

Guantánamo has long been associated with indefinite detention, legal limbo, and human rights abuses. Now, the U.S. government is repurposing part of the base to hold migrants—raising urgent concerns about due process, oversight, and the dangerous precedent this sets.

Read Our Detailed Fact Sheet

The Background: What’s Really Happening?

Guantánamo isn’t just one facility—it houses two very different detention centers:

• The Migrant Operations Center (MOC)—Originally set up to process people interdicted at sea, this civilian-run facility screens migrants for resettlement. The MOC offers basic services, and people housed there are supposed to have some freedom of movement.
• The Military Detention Center—A stark contrast. This is where terrorism suspects have been held under wartime authority since 2002. Some detainees have been detained for decades without charge or trial. A U.N. report found conditions here amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment—possibly even torture.

The Concern:

The problem? Of the 100 transferred migrants, over 50 have been placed in the military detention center—an action that has no legal basis. Under U.S. law, using military detention facilities for migrants is illegal, period.

Why This Matters

For decades, Guantánamo has symbolized a failure of justice. Now, instead of winding down operations, the government is expanding detention there—this time for migrants seeking safety.

This move:

• Undermines due process by sending asylum seekers into a system with limited oversight.
• Reinforces dangerous narratives that falsely link migration with security threats.
• Sets a dangerous precedent—if we allow this now, what’s next?

What You Can Do: Take Action Now