Latest news with #Guantanamo
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kristi Noem's Gloat Over Dismissed Migrants Lawsuit Sparks Outrage
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem drew swift backlash on Thursday after posting a celebratory but crude message on social media in response to the dismissal of a lawsuit against her department. 'Suck it,' Noem wrote on X, formerly Twitter, attaching a screenshot of a court notice confirming that a group of 10 detained immigrants had voluntarily withdrawn their legal challenge to potentially being sent to Guantanamo. Seven of the group had already been removed from the U.S. 'rendering their claims moot' and three 'no longer wished to continue litigating this case,' said the notice. Suck it — Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 22, 2025 Critics condemned Noem's post. 'What an absolute clown show,' one user wrote, while others described her response as 'classless,' 'embarrassing' and 'beyond disgraceful.' There might be a way for you to demonstrate less class, dignity, professionalism, and how unqualified for your role you are --- but I'll be damned if I can think of what it is. — Turgid Verse (@gullyvuhr) May 23, 2025 isn't this a government account? — Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) May 23, 2025 This is the official account of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security of the United States. — Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) May 23, 2025 Quit embarrassing this country. — Robin Baxter (@robin_baxter) May 23, 2025 Every day they give me an opportunity (sometimes multiple opportunities) to say it again-they are the worst of us. And folks, unless we start making our voices heard, this nation will be remade in their horrible image. WAKE UP! — Jennifer Erin Valent 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@JenniferEValent) May 23, 2025 Did you really just say 'Suck it.' in response to people asserting their due process rights? What a dignified addition to the annals of US History. You're not fit to be the dogshit scraped off the bottom of someone's shoes @Sec_Noem, you ignorant ass. #ClownCabinethttps:// — Melaina Balbo (@MemeBalbo) May 23, 2025 This is beyond disgraceful. An absolutely pathetic puerile display from a supposed adult. — Barrels (@Uncle_Barrels) May 23, 2025 The Secretary of Homeland Security, folks. What an absolute clown show. — Chris Hofley (@chrishofley) May 23, 2025 If we're lucky, it'll only take years to undo the damage Kristi Noem has inflicted on DHS, its workforce, and its reputation in just four months. This behavior is beneath the office and an embarrassment to the institution. — alex (@ajhoward121) May 23, 2025 This is a juvenile person, an unethical person, clearly unfit for the job she has. — Michael Freeman (@michaelpfreeman) May 23, 2025 Conduct unbecoming a member of the United States cabinet. — Dave Thul (@davethul) May 23, 2025 The Most Brutal Zingers About Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' During Fiery House Debate AOC Warns GOP Over Trump Bill: 'When This Country Wakes Up … There Will Be Consequences' Jen Psaki Spoofs Karoline Leavitt With Ice-Cold Trump Stunt Prediction
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The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Housing migrants at Guantanamo Bay costs $100,000 per day per inmate, senator says
Housing migrants at Guantanamo Bay costs as much as $100,000 per inmate, per day, a U.S. senator has claimed, describing the set-up as 'outrageous.' The astonishing figure may mean that President Donald Trump 's use of the naval base in Cuba costs almost 1,000 times more than housing people in U.S. immigration facilities – which is $165. The claims were made by Senator Gary Peters of Michigan during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, in which he and other members grilled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Peters, the top Democrat on the committee, decried the use of the facility as a prime example of wasteful government spending, highlighting that the Trump administration's irrational shuttling of prisoners back and forth had also been at U.S. taxpayer expense. "We're spending $100,000 a day to keep someone at Guantanamo," Peters complained. "We keep them there awhile, then we fly them back to the United States, or we could keep them here for $165 a day. I think that's kind of outrageous." It comes after the White House requested a huge increase in funding for immigration enforcement as it continues its attempt to further Trump's goal of mass deportations. Earlier this month the administration asked Congress to boost the Department of Homeland Security budget by nearly $44 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins on October 1. Noem, who appeared before the committee on Tuesday to defend the budget request, said she did not know the daily cost to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay. At another point during Tuesday's hearing, Noem stunned members of the committee by appearing not to understand the fundamental American right of habeas corpus – which the White House is threatening to suspend. Habeas corpus allows people to challenge the legality of their detention, and has been a constitutional right in the United States since 1789. Noem claimed the opposite, saying that habeas corpus 'is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.' New Hampshire Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan, who had asked Noem to define the concept, responded flatly: 'That is incorrect.' She added: 'Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people ... [it] separates free societies like American from police states like North Korea.' Roughly 70 migrants are currently detained at the infamous Cuban facility at Guantanamo Bay, according to a U.S. official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, established in 2002 at the US Naval Station in Cuba, was created to detain terrorism suspects and "illegal enemy combatants" as part of the post-9/11 "war on terror." The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in March to prevent 10 migrants from being transferred to the base. In the suit, ACLU alleged that migrants at Guantanamo had been held in windowless rooms for at least 23 hours per day, subjected to invasive strip searches, and unable to contact family members.
Globe and Mail
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Trump migrant detentions at Guantanamo Bay cost $100,000 per person daily, senator says
President Donald Trump's use of the Guantanamo Bay naval base to house migrants appears to cost $100,000 per day for each detainee, U.S. Senator Gary Peters said during a hearing on Tuesday, decrying what he described as a prime example of wasteful government spending. Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the high cost, far more than the $165 per day in U.S. immigration detention facilities. Peters also asked why detainees have been sent to the American naval base in Cuba but then shuttled back to the United States at taxpayer expense. 'We're spending $100,000 a day to keep someone at Guantanamo,' Peters said. 'We keep them there awhile, then we fly them back to the United States, or we could keep them here for $165 a day. I think that's kind of outrageous.' The White House has requested a huge increase in funding for immigration enforcement as it tries to achieve Trump's goal of mass deportations. The administration asked Congress this month for an additional $44-billion for the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2026, which begins on Oct. 1. Noem, appearing before the committee to defend the budget request, said she did not know the daily cost to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay. Her department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were roughly 70 migrants currently detained there. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in March to prevent 10 migrants from being transferred to the base. In the suit, ACLU alleged that migrants at Guantanamo had been held in windowless rooms for at least 23 hours per day, subjected to invasive strip searches, and unable to contact family members. Some had attempted suicide, the ACLU said. Senator Rand Paul, the Republican chairman of the committee, also raised concerns with spending for additional barriers at the U.S.-Mexico border since the number of migrants caught crossing illegally has plummeted since Trump took office. A sweeping U.S. House of Representatives budget plan would devote $46.5-billion to the border wall alone. 'I'm not saying no new money is needed,' Paul said. 'I think you need more Border Patrol, and you're going to need more money for that, but I think it should be within reason.'
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Trump migrant detentions at Guantanamo Bay cost $100,000 per person daily, senator says
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's use of the Guantanamo Bay naval base to house migrants appears to cost $100,000 per day for each detainee, U.S. Senator Gary Peters said during a hearing on Tuesday, decrying what he described as a prime example of wasteful government spending. Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the high cost, far more than the $165 per day in U.S. immigration detention facilities. Peters also asked why detainees have been sent to the American naval base in Cuba but then shuttled back to the United States at taxpayer expense. "We're spending $100,000 a day to keep someone at Guantanamo," Peters said. "We keep them there awhile, then we fly them back to the United States, or we could keep them here for $165 a day. I think that's kind of outrageous." The White House has requested a huge increase in funding for immigration enforcement as it tries to achieve Trump's goal of mass deportations. The administration asked Congress, opens new tab this month for an additional $44 billion for the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2026, which begins on Oct. 1. Noem, appearing before the committee to defend the budget request, said she did not know the daily cost to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay. Her department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were roughly 70 migrants currently detained there. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in March to prevent 10 migrants from being transferred to the base. In the suit, ACLU alleged that migrants at Guantanamo had been held in windowless rooms for at least 23 hours per day, subjected to invasive strip searches, and unable to contact family members. Some had attempted suicide, the ACLU said. Senator Rand Paul, the Republican chairman of the committee, also raised concerns with spending for additional barriers at the U.S.-Mexico border since the number of migrants caught crossing illegally has plummeted since Trump took office. A sweeping U.S. House of Representatives budget plan would devote $46.5 billion to the border wall alone. "I'm not saying no new money is needed," Paul said. "I think you need more Border Patrol, and you're going to need more money for that, but I think it should be within reason."
Gizmodo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Gizmodo
Tech Weirdos Want to Transform Guantánamo Into a ‘Freedom City'
If you have an ounce of historical awareness (and basic empathy), the name 'Guantánamo Bay' triggers images of torture and pain. It's a site where the deprivation of the powers that be has been on full display. But what if Guantánamo wasn't such a downer? What if it became a 'prosperous charter city'? That's the proposal coming from the most recent group of libertarian tech weirdos trying to rebrand Guantanamo with the help of a little modern-day slave labor. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has been courted by several groups proposing 'charter', 'startup', or 'freedom' cities in the United States. Exempt from taxes and regulations, these cities propose themselves as wonderlands where business (like clinical trials) can be conducted without governmental oversight. But their sites aren't limited to the U.S. alone. In February, one of the groups, the Charter Cities Institute, released its proposal to transform Guantánamo through 'governance autonomy, private-sector investment, and immigration reform.' The group honed in on Guantánamo due to its legal status as a site under U.S. jurisdiction with 'minimal local legal complexity.' Compared to domestic sites where the group encounters 'multi-tiered hurdles' like zoning boards and city regulations, setting up a charter city on Guantánamo would be a breeze. In its proposal, CCI wrote, 'By transforming Guantanamo Bay into a charter city, the U.S. government can catalyze economic growth, manage immigration flows, and project America's unparalleled capacity for innovation and statecraft — all while requiring no legislation.' Generally, Trump has been receptive to so-called charter cities and previously suggested using protected federal land to build them. In March, Trump compared their efforts to 'past generations of Americans' who 'pushed across an unsettled continent and built new cities in the wild frontier.' He also said that building these cities would 'reopen the frontier, reignite American imagination, and give hundreds of thousands of young people and other people, all hardworking families, a new shot at home ownership and, in fact, the American dream.' Trump's words echo portions of CCI's proposal, which also pitched a Guantánamo charter city as an opportunity for 'undermining Cuba's community regime.' It all sounds corny because it is. While groups like CCI propose their developments as innovative structures where cutting-edge tech can prosper, all they're really doing is bringing back company towns. However, Trump isn't completely off in his comparison. CCI's ambitions are similar to past generations of Americans who relied on, you know, genocide and slavery. In its proposal, CCI pitched Guantánamo as a 'unique opportunity to rethink immigration pathways while balancing economic opportunity with security concerns.' The proposal went on to suggest housing immigrants at Guantánamo for a 'probationary period' while 'evaluating their contributions to the local economy and society.' CCI also pitched a 'Guantanamo Bay Tech Visa' to fast-track high-skilled workers into 'market integration.' The idea of housing immigrants at Guantánamo isn't far-fetched. In the early 90s, HIV-positive Haitian asylum seekers were detained at Guantánamo in horrific conditions. Earlier this year, Trump also ordered the expansion of detention centers at Guantánamo. Although Trump aimed to detain up to 30,000 migrants on the bay, fewer than 500 people have been held there, per a New York Times report published this week. It's possible to go on for days about how ugly and weird CCI's proposal is. Trying to rebrand Guantánamo as a place of prosperity while simultaneously proposing modern-day slavery is foul. Immigrants are already dying in detention facilities due to medical neglect and suicide. As Joseph Margulies, a Cornell professor and author of Guantánamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power, told the New Republic, '[The proposal] contemplates the creation of a place where human beings exist solely to demonstrate their capacity to participate in a neoliberal experiment. That's just horrific.' Beyond the lack of humanity, CCI's proposal is shaky from a legal perspective. It relies on the notion that Guantánamo is a regulation-free zone, but that's not necessarily the case. Regardless, CCI and all these charter city bozos should be treated as the losers they are and booed anytime they talk. Instead, these organizations have the backing of tech billionaires like Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Balaji Srinivasan, and an administration that's in full agreement.
