As gang violence persists across Haiti, the Biden administration is reportedly considering housing some migrants in Guantanamo Bay - the controversial "island outside the law" where the United States holds people accused of terrorism.
In addition to holding terrorism suspects, the US also has separate facilities on the military base for holding and processing migrants. The bay is located in southeastern Cuba, about 200 miles from Haiti, and was previously prepared for refugees following the devastating 2010 earthquake, according to CNN.
"We are ready if a mass migration - if we need to deal with a mass migration," US Southern Command Commander Gen. Laura Richardson told lawmakers on Tuesday, in response to concerns about waves of migrants fleeing the Caribbean country, which is now mostly controlled by violent gangs.
"We did a full walkthrough of our contingency plan on Gitmo last summer with all of the interagency and all of my components."
Guantanamo Bay has been subject to decades of controversy due to its treatment of the prisoners detained in American facilities - frequently without formal criminal charges or trials. The American Civil Liberties Union describes the base as an "island outside the law" where inmates are "detained without process and interrogated without restraint."
Both the Obama and Biden administrations declared intentions to close the center and many of the remaining inmates have been cleared for release. Despite this, 30 men remain inside the detention facility. Among those currently held are Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described architect of the September 11 attacks; Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, Mohammed Farik Bin Amin and Encep Nurjaman who are accused of conspiring in an Indonesian bombing that left 202 people dead; as well as four other individuals who were accused of being involved in the September 11 attacks.
These are the people currently detained in Guantanamo Bay:
Held in Guantanamo Bay but Recommended for Transfer:
These men are being held despite the fact that they have not been charged with any crimes.
Khaled Ahmed Qassim
Uthman Abdul al-Rahim Muhammed Uthman
Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi
Muieen A Deen Jamal-A Deen Abd al-Fusal Abd al-Sattar
Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi
Zuhail Abdo Anam Said al-Sharabi
Ismail Ali Faraj Ali Bakush
Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah
Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah
Tawfiq Nasir Ahmed al-Bihani
Sanad Yislam al-Kazimi
Hassan Mohammed Ali Bin Attash
Sharqawi Abdu Ali al-Hajj
Abdulsalam al-Hela
Guled Hassan Duran
Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu
Held in Guantanamo Bay and Not Recommended for Transfer
These men are being held despite the fact that they have not been charged with any crimes.
Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Husayn
Mustafa Faraj Masud al-Jadid Mohammed
Muhammad Rahim
Held in Guantanamo Bay and Facing Formal Criminal Charges
Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi
Ramzi bin al-Shibh
Walid Bin Attash
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
Abd Al-Aziz Ali
Encep Nurjaman
Mohammed Farik Bin Amin
Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi
Held in Guantanamo Bay and Convicted of a Crime
Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul
