Chicago – May 20, 2025
President Donald Trump’s use of the Guantanamo Bay naval base to hold migrants is costing the U.S. government $100,000 per day for each person, according to Senator Gary Peters. Peters, a top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, raised concerns about the high cost during a hearing on Tuesday.
He pointed out that this cost is much higher than the $165 per day it takes to house migrants in other U.S. immigration detention centers. Peters also asked why some detainees are being sent to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, only to be moved back to the U.S. later at taxpayer expense.
The White House has asked Congress for an extra $44 billion for the Department of Homeland Security for the next fiscal year, as part of efforts to carry out Trump’s plan for mass deportations. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who appeared before the committee, said she didn’t know the daily cost of holding migrants at Guantanamo Bay. Her department has not yet responded to requests for more information.
A U.S. official said that around 70 migrants are currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in March to stop the transfer of 10 migrants to the base, alleging that detainees there are kept in windowless rooms for most of the day, subjected to harsh searches, and are unable to contact their families. Some migrants have even tried to take their own lives, the ACLU said.
Senator Rand Paul, the Republican chairman of the committee, also raised concerns about spending on new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. He noted that the number of migrants illegally crossing the border has dropped since Trump became president. The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a budget plan that would spend $46.5 billion on building a border wall.
