The U.S. government has started transferring detained illegal aliens to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, marking a dramatic shift in immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s directives.

The first flight, carrying nearly a dozen migrants from Fort Bliss, Texas, landed at Guantanamo earlier this week. This move follows Trump’s policy to expand the facility’s capacity to house up to 30,000 detainees.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that the facility will be a temporary processing center and emphasized that migrants will not be held indefinitely.

Guantanamo Bay has historically been used to detain foreign terrorism suspects and, in the 1990s, housed thousands of Haitian and Cuban asylum seekers. The current plan designates a separate area within the base for migrant detainees, distinct from the high-security prison that holds terrorism suspects.

This decision has sparked intense debate, with critics raising concerns about human rights and due process. Advocacy groups argue that housing migrants at Guantanamo reinforces its legacy as a site of indefinite detention. At the same time, supporters claim it is a necessary step to curb illegal immigration and enhance border security.

The Biden administration had previously reduced Guantanamo’s detainee population, but Trump’s return to office has reversed that trend. As the policy unfolds, legal challenges and international scrutiny are expected to follow.