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In two months, only around 400 migrants have been held there, mostly Venezuelan and Nicaraguan citizens awaiting deportation.
Carol Rosenberg has been reporting on U.S. military activities at the Navy base in Cuba since 1999.
April 4, 2025, 6:05 p.m. ET
Two months after President Trump ordered his administration to prepare the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay for up to 30,000 migrants, about 400 migrants have been held there at a cost to taxpayers of more than $40 million.
At one point in February, the administration held 178 Venezuelans at the base, the largest group to be kept there at one time. The operation has been staffed with 1,000 government workers, 900 of them members of the U.S. military and the rest immigration service agents or contractors. That means a ratio of five staff members for each migrant in that group.
The hidden costs of detaining migrants at Guantánamo
Everything from fresh fruit to school supplies comes to the U.S. Navy base twice a month by barge or plane, Carol Rosenberg explains.
Senior Pentagon officials testified at Congress this week about the operation. Here are some of the things we know as of now.
Is Guantánamo ready for 30,000 migrants?
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No. To hold that many people there, the Pentagon would have to mobilize approximately 9,000-plus service members to Guantánamo to support the Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff running the operation, Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of the U.S. Southern Command, told the House Armed Services Committee this week.
