Number of immigrants held at Guantanamo grows

The US military already holds about 68 people at its prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of efforts to assist the Department of Homeland Security with mass deportations.

The commander of the United States Southern Command, which oversees the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, briefed lawmakers on Wednesday on the updated figure but said he could not yet provide details on how much it will cost to host an increasing number of individuals.

Admiral Alvin Holsey said these efforts include detaining individuals described by Department of Homeland Security officials as "high-risk criminal aliens" and continuing to hold up to 30,000 non-violent immigrants scheduled for deportation.

"We're taking a phased approach," Admiral Holsey told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, adding that the base now has the capacity to hold about 2,500 non-violent immigrants.

"We're working with the Department of Homeland Security to understand the influx of immigrants," he said. "We're not going to go to 30,000 unless we know that's going to be the influx of immigrants that's going to come. So we were on hold at that point."

The U.S. Army Transportation Command told VOA on Monday that there have been at least five flights of migrants to Guantanamo Bay, aboard C-17 or C-130 military transport aircraft.

Most flights, according to some officials, had 10-15 detainees.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who visited the prison last Friday and oversaw the transfer of the third flight of detainees to the detention center, has repeatedly described them as "murderers and savage gang members" from Venezuela and "the worst of the worst."

In a social media post, Secretary Noem said that at least one of the immigrants sent to Guantanamo Bay had admitted to a murder, while the others were wanted for attempted murder, physical assault, arms trafficking and other criminal offenses.

An official, speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity, said that all individuals held at Guantanamo Bay have been issued final deportation orders. But the Department of Homeland Security has not made available charging documents or other details about the crimes the detainees are accused of committing.

On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), along with several immigration rights groups, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, alleging that detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison have been improperly denied access to lawyers.

"By sending immigrants to a remote island cut off from lawyers, family and the rest of the world, the Trump administration is sending its clearest signal yet that the rule of law means nothing to it," said a statement from ACLU chief legal officer Lee Gelernt.

"It will now be up to the courts to reaffirm that the rule of law governs our country," he added.

According to the ACLU and other organizations, one of the plaintiffs, Eucaris Carolina Gomez Lugo, learned that her brother had been sent to Guantanamo Bay only after seeing him in a photograph.

The organization also said it was shocked to learn that the government was claiming he was a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

The Department of Homeland Security denied the lawsuit's claims.

"There is a system for using the telephone to contact lawyers," a senior Department of Homeland Security official said in a written statement sent to VOA.

"If the American Civil Liberties Union cares more about highly dangerous criminal aliens, including murderers and violent gang members, than about American citizens, they should change their name," the official added, responding to the lawsuit on condition of anonymity./ VOA