800 Europeans affected Trump wants to deport masses of migrants to Guantánamo

Guantanamo Bay, once synonymous with the "war on terror", is set to become the new arena for US migration policy according to the Trump administration's plans. The criticism is strong.

Donald Trump wants to transfer thousands of irregular migrants to Guantanamo Bay. This is according to internal government documents obtained by Politico. According to these documents, up to 9,000 people are to be examined for transfer to the military base from this week onwards. So far, around 500 migrants have been temporarily housed there since February.

The move is part of a plan that Trump made public back in January: the detention center in Cuba, notorious for the detention of terror suspects after September 11, 2001, is to house up to 30,000 migrants in the future. Officially, the action is intended to create space in US deportation centers - but the symbolic character is unmistakable: The message to potential migrants is one of deterrence.

According to the documents, the first transfers could begin as early as Wednesday. The migrants are only to remain in Guantanamo temporarily before being sent back to their countries of origin. No advance warning to the countries concerned is planned. When asked by "Politico", neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the State Department wanted to comment.

Europeans also affected

Explosive: Around 800 Europeans - including 170 Russians, 100 Romanians and one Austrian - are also to be considered for transfer. These plans alarm US diplomats, who emphasize that European states are generally willing to cooperate and that detention at Guantánamo is unnecessary. A senior State Department official even spoke of a tactic to "shock and disturb".

At the same time, a class action lawsuit is being brought in Washington against the use of Guantánamo for migrants. The civil rights organization ACLU accuses the government of deliberately creating inhumane conditions there - including a lack of supplies, dirty clothing and rat infestation. The aim is to force migrants to leave voluntarily through fear.

Symbol of the "war on terror"

The facility has existed on Cuban soil since 1903 and was once the focal point of the "war on terror". Now it is apparently to be converted into a deportation machine. Critics criticize not only the symbolic effect, but also the practical hurdles: high costs, tropical climate, lack of medical care - and the misuse of military infrastructure for domestic political purposes.

Meanwhile, Trump's chief strategist Stephen Miller is calling for 3,000 arrests a day by the immigration authorities. At the same time, the government is pushing Congress for higher budgets for new deportation centers - while it is already creating facts at Guantánamo.