Lawyers sue to block Trump administration from sending 10 migrants to Guantanamo Bay
Published:Saturday | March 1, 2025 | 3:43 PM
Civil rights attorneys sued the Trump administration Saturday to prevent it from transferring 10 migrants detained in the US to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, their second legal challenge in less than a month over plans for holding up to 30,000 immigrants there for deportation.
The latest federal lawsuit so far applies only to 10 men facing transfer to the naval base in Cuba. Like a lawsuit the same attorneys filed earlier this month for access to migrants already detained there, the latest case was filed in Washington and is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
At least 50 migrants have been transferred already to Guantanamo Bay, and the civil rights attorneys believe the number now may be about 200. They have said it is the first time in US history that the government has detained non-citizens on civil immigration charges there. For decades, the naval base was primarily used to detain foreigners associated with the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Trump has said Guantanamo Bay, also known as “Gitmo,” has space for up to 30,000 immigrants living in the US and that he plans to send “the worst” or high-risk “criminal aliens” there. The administration has not released specific information on who is being transferred, so it is not clear what crimes they are accused of committing in the US and whether they have been convicted in court, or merely charged or arrested.
The 10 men involved in the lawsuit came to the US in 2023 or 2024. Seven are from Venezuela, and the lawsuit said two had been tortured by the Venezuelan government for their political views. A man from Afghanistan and one from Pakistan came to the US, the lawsuit said, because of threats from the Taliban. One man fled Bangladesh because he was threatened over his political party membership, the lawsuit said.
“The purpose of this second Guantanamo lawsuit is to prevent more people from being illegally sent to this notorious prison, where the conditions have now been revealed to be inhumane,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney and lead counsel on the case. “The lawsuit is not claiming they cannot be detained in US facilities, but only that they cannot be sent to Guantanamo.”
The White House and the Defense and Homeland Security departments did not immediately respond to emails Saturday seeking comment about the lawsuit.
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