Since Donald Trump took over the White House as the 47th President of the United States, he has taken a tough approach to immigration.
Within weeks of his presidency, he signed a slew of executive orders to âreclaim controlâ of the States, hiked up tariffs to neighbors, Canada, Mexico and China to encourage their cooperation in halting illegal immigration and even threatened Colombia with similar sanctions for refusing to accept deportation flights which have been ramped up.
Deported migrants arriving in Honduras on January 31 under Trumpâs orders (Emilio Flores/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Heâs also been looking at revoking student visas for foreign youngsters and deporting them if they are found protesting against Israel, launching a new detention center for deportees in Colorado, and proposed another idea to exile repeat criminal offenders of any nationality, including the US, to far away lands in a âmodernâ take on a penal colony.
Trumpâs plans for Guantanamo Bay
As part of his plans, heâs also been looking at expanding the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison which was opened by President George Bush in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack to send âillegal enemy combatantsâ.
Now, Trump is hoping to send migrants to the notorious Cuba jail by signing the Laken Riley Act.
The prison is still home to some 15 terror suspects, including those behind the September 2001 attacks.
During his first term in Oval Office, Trump reversed a Barack Obama administration order to keep the prison open in 2018, despite protests from human rights activists.
Under President Obama, more than 150 detainees were released but the former POTUS was slammed for failing to fully close the center.
An inmate pictured in the prison in 2009 (MICHELLE SHEPHARD/AFP via Getty Images)
img class=”article-image_image__XvzgU” src=”https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg” sizes=”100vw” srcset=”https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=640&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg 640w, https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=750&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg 750w, https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=828&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg 828w, https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=1080&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg 1080w, https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=1200&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg 1200w, https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=1920&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg 1920w, https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=2048&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg 2048w, https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blt949ea8e16e463049/blt244aabc8569180d2/67af548434352861627f9d7b/GettyImages-98167982.jpg 3840w” alt=”(John Moore/Getty Images)” data-chromatic=”ignore” data-nimg=”fill” />
(John Moore/Getty Images)
âLiving hellâ
Guantanamo Bay has been dubbed a âlegal black holeâ, reports The Mirror, where its prisoners endure a âliving hellâ of abuse and torture.
The perimeter of the prison is surrounded by a minefield and plans reveal prisoners will either be kept in small detention centers or tents manned by soldiers and marines.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International branded the prison âa symbol of torture, rendition and indefinite detention without charge or trialâ.
As well as human rights protesters, the United Nations also slammed the facility, calling it a âstain on the US Governmentâs commitment to the rule of law.â
Former prisoners that were released under Obamaâs rule included a British father, Shaker Aamer, who said he was tortured, beaten and held in solitary confinement for 13 years in the prison where he was held without charge.
Peace activists called on Obama and Biden to close the camp (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Obama pledged to close Guantanamo in 2016, saying it âunderminesâ national security rather than strengthening it.
Before signing the Laken Riley Act, which makes the expansion of Guantanamo Bay vision a reality, Trump previously said: âWe have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people.
âSome of them are so bad we donât even trust the countries to hold them because we donât want them coming back.
âSo weâre going to send them out to Guantanamo Bay. This will double our capacity immediately, and tough. Thatâs a tough â thatâs a tough place to get out of.â