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President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday (January 29) that he will sign an executive order to prepare the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to house 30,000 migrants. The move is part of his administration's effort to address illegal immigration and enhance border security.
"Some of them are so bad, we don’t even trust their countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back," Trump said. "We’re going to send them to Guantanamo."
"It’s a tough place to get out of," he added.
The executive order directs the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparations for the facility. However, a U.S. official told CNN that the current facilities are not equipped to handle such a large number of detainees, indicating that significant resources and staff would be required.
The announcement coincided with the signing of the Laken Riley Act, which mandates the detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes. Trump emphasized that these actions bring the U.S. closer to "eradicating the scourge of migrant crime in our communities once and for all."