Photo: Migrants Sent to Guantanamo
Donald Trump isn't the first president to send detained migrants to the U.S. detention center in Cuba.

On February 4, the first group of detained migrants were flown to Guantanamo Bay after President Donald Trump ordered the expansion of immigrant detention at the base for up to 30,000 people. This isn't new. President George H.W. Bush held thousands of Haitians there after they fled a violent coup, and under President Bill Clinton, tens of thousands of Haitians and Cubans were detained without adequate provisions. Guantanamo has long been where the U.S. government sidesteps constitutional protections for detainees—a key reason human rights groups and civil libertarians have consistently called for its closure.
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
'without adequate provisions' according to who and by what standard?
Not enough Cuban sandwiches?
Karma’s a bitch.
I, for one, think it's downright noble of the Trump Administration to provide these migrants with a safe space.
Who doesn’t like a Caribbean vacation?
Especially all-inclusive.
And despite all you bleating sheep, STILL nobody cares!
I - for the sheer life of me - don't know why you people think you can make pity cases out of these criminal scumbags.
My guess: two-thirds of Democrats suffer from compulsive compassion, and need to alleviate any perceived sadness in the world; two-thirds of Democrats also suffer from moderate to severe TDS and will reflexively oppose any policies they attribute to Trump.
My guess: two-thirds of Trumpians are sadists, and only feel good when others suffer; two-thirds of Trumpians are sycophants who will reflexively defend any policy they attribute to Trump.
Cite?
Do you get stimulated from feeling "oppressed"?
Imagine Trump didn't exist, and this was still happening.
What would be your grousing then, and why?
1st. Foreigners aren't guaranteed Constitutional Protections.
2nd. There is no Constitutional protection that nobody gets sent to Guantanamo Bay.
As I have stated before this is the Donnie Dipshit policy I agree with.
How about shipping them to Gitmo and then leaving the back door open. See how the Cubans deal with them.
The Cubans have their own fortifications at the "back door". They're not stupid.
A gulag in the Caribbean - and a damn sight better than Siberia.
Guantanamo has long been where the U.S. government sidesteps constitutional protections for detainees -- a key reason human rights groups and civil libertarians have consistently called for its closure.
An even more key reason why govt and pols will keep it open and expand it if they can. Supported by commenters here.
The commentariat here long ago abandoned any pretense of adherence to libertarian ideals, despite still claiming the name.
How 'bout taking them half way to Cuba?
Sounds like a reasonable compromise.
Just so long as we get photos. Sweet glorious photos of these scumbags being packed up and shipped out.