On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, announcing plans to open a detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, aimed at housing tens of thousands of migrants residing in the U.S. without legal status.

“Some of them are so dangerous we can’t trust their home countries to keep them, because we don’t want them returning. Therefore, we’ll send them to Guantanamo,” Trump stated.

He issued a presidential memorandum directing the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to start preparations for the new facility at Guantanamo Bay, which has been used to detain terrorism suspects following the 9/11 attacks.

The memorandum indicated that Naval Station Guantanamo Bay would be utilized to “offer additional detention capacity for high-priority criminal aliens illegally present in the United States.”

Here’s a brief overview of what you need to know about Guantanamo Bay.

What is Guantanamo Bay?

The U.S. has been utilizing Naval Station Guantanamo Bay since 1898, dating back to the time of the Spanish-American War.

As per the Navy, a lease for 45 square miles of land and water at Guantanamo Bay was established in 1903 between the U.S. and Cuba. In 1934, a treaty was signed that reaffirmed the lease terms and added a requirement about its termination.

“Ending the lease necessitates agreement from both the U.S. and Cuban governments, or abandonment of the base property by the U.S.,” the Navy explained.

In the 1950s, following the Cuban Revolution, the U.S. severed diplomatic ties with Cuba in 1961. Consequently, the Cuban government restricted access to water and supplies in 1964, according to the Navy.

Since that time, the Navy reports that the naval station operates independently with its own water and power sources.

Guantanamo Bay has faced long-standing criticism

The base has been a focal point of criticism and discussions of potential closure for many years. Former President Barack Obama issued a directive in 2016 aimed at closing the facility, which had faced condemnation from human rights organizations since it was established by the George W. Bush administration after the 9/11 attacks.

“Guantanamo continues to sustain a legacy of torture, indefinite detention, Islamophobia, and injustice. Detainees in Guantanamo are kept without charges or fair trials, violating the US Constitution and depriving them of their fundamental human rights,” stated Amnesty International in 2024.

Obama’s attempts to close the facility were thwarted largely due to Congressional Republicans blocking efforts to relocate particularly dangerous detainees considered future terrorist threats.

During his presidency, Bush transferred nearly 500 detainees from Guantanamo Bay to other countries, while the Obama administration moved around 200 detainees.

In 2018, President Trump, during his first term, signed an executive order to keep the facility operational.

“I am also urging Congress to ensure that, in our efforts against ISIS and al-Qaeda, we maintain the authority to detain terrorists — no matter where we pursue them,” he declared during the 2018 State of the Union address.

Contributing: David Jackson, Joey Garrison, Josh Meyer, and Francesca Chambers

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter. Follow him on X @fern_cerv_.