Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the United States government to immediately cease transferring immigrant detainees to the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The organization warns that these individuals face “abusive and inhumane detention conditions” which could amount to ill-treatment. HRW’s findings are based on interviews with immigrants who reported being unaware that they were being taken to Guantánamo and faced prolonged detention without communication, under unsanitary conditions, and without any explanation of their legal status or notification to their families.
The group criticized the U.S. government’s actions, stating, “No immigrant or individual who leaves their country in search of protection should be taken to a place like this.” In late January 2025, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum to expand the “Migrants Operations Centre” (GMOC) at Guantánamo, aiming to accommodate up to 30,000 immigrants categorized as the “worst criminal illegal aliens.” This initiative has drawn sharp condemnation from Amnesty International, which highlighted Guantánamo’s history of human rights abuses.
In February 2025, nearly 200 Venezuelan migrants were transferred to Guantánamo Bay. Legal documents reveal that 127 of these individuals were held in a high-security area, while 51 were placed in lower-security tent facilities. Most of the detainees, 177 out of the 200, were deported via a flight from Honduras to Venezuela, sparking several civil rights lawsuits challenging these transfers.
Legal advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the International Refugee Assistance Project, filed motions in March 2025 to block further transfers and to secure legal access for the detainees. A subsequent lawsuit followed in June 2025, reflecting ongoing concerns over the treatment of these immigrants.
Established in January 2002 during the post-9/11 “war on terror,” Guantánamo Bay was intentionally situated offshore to bypass certain legal protections. International law, including the United Nations Convention Against Torture, prohibits returning individuals to territories where their safety or freedom may be compromised. While the U.S. has legal frameworks for granting asylum, HRW asserts that these standards have been severely undermined by opaque procedures and extraterritorial detention at Guantánamo.
In light of these developments, HRW is urging the U.S. government to halt all current and future transfers of migrants to Guantánamo. The organization also calls for ensuring that detainees at the facility receive due process, meaningful access to legal counsel, and adherence to international human rights standards that mandate transparency and the protection of asylum seekers.