Deportation of immigrants, Pentagon chief visits Guantanamo as their number grows

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth visited the US base at Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday to get a first-hand look at US efforts to deport detained immigrants as the number of those arriving there increases.

A plane carrying nine immigrants, departing from Fort Bliss, Texas, landed at Guantanamo Bay at noon Tuesday, a defense official told VOA. Another official said they were considered “high-threat illegal aliens” and were being taken to the Guantanamo detention center. A third official said another flight carrying illegal immigrants was scheduled for Wednesday.

All the officials spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss deportation operations. On Sunday, 17 more detainees were sent to the center from Fort Bliss, Texas.

The Department of Homeland Security, which is leading the deportation efforts, as well as the immigration enforcement agency, ICE, have not responded to questions about the identities of the detainees, their countries of origin or the crimes they are accused of.

Tuesday's flight is the second since ICE on Thursday deported 177 detainees who had been sent to Guantanamo Bay earlier this month.

Officials said more than 120 of them were dangerous criminals, including members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua criminal organization, designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. About 50 others were being held in a migrant detention facility that houses individuals who have not committed a crime.

Secretary Hegseth posted on the X network photos from his visit to the Guantanamo base, expressing appreciation for US troops in support of efforts to deport illegal immigrants.

"These fighters are directly supporting the detention and deportation of dangerous illegal aliens," he wrote on the X network. "We cannot thank them or their families enough."

The head of U.S. Southern Command, which oversees operations at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, told lawmakers earlier this month that the base had the capacity to house about 2,500 nonviolent detainees. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing at the base to expand its capacity to house about 30,000 illegal immigrants who are set to be deported.

American efforts to deport illegal immigrants have drawn criticism from immigration rights groups.

Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union and several other organizations filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security alleging that detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison who are to be deported were improperly denied access to lawyers. The Department of Homeland Security has denied the lawsuit's allegations. (A2 Televizion)