United States: Trump administration Venezuelan migrants at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba operate under military supervision instead of civilian immigration personnel as per people knowledgeable about the operation.
More about the news
Contrary to the Trump administration’s claims that the detainees legally belong to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, personnel do the actual work of guarding and medicating due to military presence, according to sources familiar with the operation.
The Trump administration has refrained from releasing information about migrant names despite the familial identification of two individuals in pictures obtained from the initial flight.
The government’s decision not to reveal migrant identities caused both relatives’ inability to locate their relatives and difficulties for defense lawyers who wished to protest the detention, the New York Times reported.
What are the officials stating?
Defenders from Homeland Security and Defense Departments have provided no adequate answers regarding migrant conditions at the base.
The New York Times gained access to a list containing the details about 53 male detainees currently held at Camp 6, which used to confine Al Qaeda suspects.
The Times has made the list with names public. After the primary group of 10 Texas-based detainees arrived one week earlier, the situation regarding their condition remains difficult to determine.
Official spokespeople from the Defense Department and Homeland Security Department refuse to provide details about the captured migrants except to confirm their national origins.
Department officials state the men belong to criminal gangs but substantiate their claims with no evidence, the New York Times reported.
Tricia McLaughlin, who works for Homeland Security, announced on Wednesday that the agency transported around 100 individuals to Guantánamo Bay since each of them had established deportation orders.
The immigrants detained by ICE do not necessarily have unauthorized entry status to the United States.
Several migrants, including asylum seekers, arrived at the border seeking protection, but the authorities ended up denying them entry.
The government failed to present proof regarding the border crossing status of all men sent to Guantánamo Bay.