U.S. sending nonviolent, "low-risk" migrants to Guantanamo, despite vow to detain "the worst" there

Washington — While the Trump administration has highlighted transfers of dangerous criminals and suspected gang members to Guantanamo Bay, it is also sending nonviolent, "low-risk" migrant detainees who lack serious criminal records or any at all, according to two U.S. officials and internal government documents.

When he ordered officials to convert facilities inside the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into a large-scale immigration detention site late last month, President Trump said it would house the "worst" migrants and "provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens." 

Administration officials have since touted military flights to Guantanamo that they said have transported migrants in the U.S. illegally who have also committed violent crimes like murder and rape, as well as alleged members of Tren de Aragua, the infamous gang that originated in Venezuelan prisons.