Trump Is Turning Guantánamo Into a Deportation Camp. We Must Stop Him.
August 1, 2025
In the shadows of Trump’s reelection campaign, his allies are laying the groundwork for one of the most dangerous and authoritarian projects in modern U.S. history: mass deportations to Guantánamo Bay.
Yes, that Guantánamo—the U.S. military prison in Cuba that became infamous after 9/11 for detaining and torturing hundreds of Muslim men without trial. A place synonymous with human rights abuses, indefinite detention, and government secrecy is now being repurposed as a central hub for Donald Trump’s mass deportation machine.
Trump has already signed an executive order authorizing GITMO to be used as a mass immigrant detention facility, with plans to incarcerate up to 30,000 people. ICE has begun racially profiling and targeting individuals—especially those with tattoos or connections to activist movements—and sending them to this legal black hole.
This isn't speculation. This is happening now.
Guantánamo’s Dark History Is Repeating Itself
Between 2002 and 2008, Guantánamo Bay was used to hold 780 Muslim men, most of them never formally charged with a crime. Many were tortured. Some were held in solitary confinement for years. Legal experts, human rights organizations, and even military lawyers have long acknowledged GITMO as a stain on U.S. values and international law.
Of the 780 people detained, only eight were ever convicted of crimes against the United States.
Now Trump wants to resurrect this facility—not for alleged terrorists, but for immigrants, asylum-seekers, and U.S. residents caught in the dragnet of ICE.
The Supreme Court Just Gave Him the Green Light
In June, the Trump-aligned Supreme Court ruled that asylum-seekers and undocumented immigrants who have committed no crimes can be deported not just to their country of origin—but to third-party nations with no ties to their communities or legal protections.
That ruling opened the door for even more aggressive tactics. Already, immigrants in the U.S.—including student activists speaking out for Palestine—are being surveilled, detained, and processed for deportation under vague pretexts.
And Trump’s allies have made clear: this is only the beginning.
ICE Has Already Deported U.S. Citizens. It Will Happen Again.
During Trump’s first term, ICE illegally deported at least 70 U.S. citizens. That number is expected to rise dramatically under a second Trump administration empowered with even fewer legal constraints.
The agency's pattern of racial profiling, detaining people without due process, and making life-or-death mistakes is well documented. Under Trump’s current plan, those abuses will multiply—exponentially.
No one is safe if we allow Guantánamo Bay to become a mass deportation camp.
Congress Is Taking a Stand. So Can You.
Thankfully, there’s resistance.
Led by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a coalition of 15 Members of Congress is demanding the immediate and permanent closure of Guantánamo Bay as an immigrant detention facility. Their letter to the administration also calls for the U.S. to “ensure that all detained individuals are treated with dignity, due process, and the protections guaranteed under both U.S. and international law.”
Fifty-five organizations have already signed on in support.
Now we’re asking you to join them.
https://trackaipac.link/close-gitmo
We Must Raise Hell
This moment demands more than quiet outrage. It demands action. Trump’s plan is no longer theoretical—it’s operational. And unless everyday people step up to fight back, Guantánamo Bay will become the central node in a nationwide network of racialized mass incarceration and deportation.
We can’t let that happen.
Not in our name. Not on our watch.
