A U.S. Senate oversight report, authored by Democratic staff, has raised concerns about the exorbitant expenses associated with the immigration operation at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base. An inspection conducted in August revealed that 445 personnel were assigned to the mission, yet there were no migrants in detention.
Titled "Congressional Oversight of Immigration Detention at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay," the report was released on October 9 following a site visit on August 10. Despite the absence of detainees at the base, the operation involved 380 employees from the Department of Defense, 13 ICE personnel, 37 contractors from AIP, and 15 members of the ICE Health Service Corps, totaling 445 individuals.
The document outlines that since the first transfer flight on February 4, 2025, the Trump administration has relocated approximately 852 adult men from the United States to Guantánamo, costing taxpayers over $100 million. The New York Times highlighted that this expenditure translates to about $118,000 per migrant, based on the nearly 850 detainees processed since February 2025.
Resource Discrepancy and Financial Burden
The base has primarily functioned as a temporary detention site before deportation or relocation to other destinations. Senate staff were informed that the average duration of stay for the approximately 850 men was 20 to 30 days, with some remaining for several months. The report critiques the imbalance between human resources, installed capacity, and the actual number of detainees, emphasizing the significant financial burden on taxpayers and the impact on military personnel availability.
The deployment began after Trump ordered in January 2025 to prepare Guantánamo for up to 30,000 migrants as part of his detention and deportation strategy. Reality, however, fell short of this goal. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report confirmed that the Department of Defense initially erected tents for 5,000 people, which were dismantled without housing any detainees after the Department of Homeland Security found them non-compliant with required standards. These tents cost approximately $2.85 million despite never being used, leading to a significant scale-down of operations since February 2025.
Infrastructure Challenges and Coordination Issues
The Senate inspection also uncovered infrastructure and coordination issues among the various involved agencies. In Camp VI, a former prison for individuals linked to the so-called war on terror, bunk beds were installed to accommodate up to 350 migrants. During the visit, however, only 270 to 280 beds were available due to maintenance work.
In the event of detainees, the planned framework involves 23 military personnel per shift, accompanied by two AIP contractors and one ICE agent. Investigators also noted a lack of clear joint operational procedures between military personnel and ICE, although both are involved in migrant custody.
The report criticized the conditions for legal access. In Camp VI, detainees lacked a designated space for confidential phone conversations with legal representatives. Guantánamo also has a separate Department of Homeland Security facility intended for migrants intercepted at sea seeking protection. While its nominal capacity is 100, Senate staff determined it could only house about 50 men due to structural or maintenance problems.
Temporary Transfers and Broader Immigration Policy Debate
The operation has mainly facilitated the temporary transfer of individuals already in deportation proceedings. A quarterly report by the inspector generals on Operation Southern Guard noted that between January 21, 2025, and July 29, 2026, 839 migrants were transferred to the base: 632 were repatriated to foreign countries, while 207 were sent to U.S. destinations for deportation, health, or legal reasons. The average accumulated stay was then 14 days, although some migrants remained up to 101 days at Guantánamo.
Earlier scrutiny had already questioned the low occupancy level at Guantánamo Naval Base. In May, only six migrants, all Haitians, were detained at the facility, while the Department of Defense maintained 522 military personnel assigned to the operation and about 60 ICE employees. Two months later, the Trump administration was still considering expanding Guantánamo's detention capacity as part of a plan that included 13 other locations. At that time, the military component of the operation was estimated to cost around $73 million annually, despite less than 2% of the approximately 400 beds being occupied.
Guantánamo has also been used to temporarily detain Cuban citizens before deportation. In December 2025, relatives reported that 22 Cubans who had signed voluntary departures to the island were transferred from Louisiana to the naval base. A month later, dozens of Cubans were detained in Guantánamo after mistakenly believing their flight would take them directly to Havana. About 50 men were temporarily caught in a complicated transfer process between the base, the U.S., and Cuba.
Finally, in February, the U.S. repatriated 170 Cubans on a flight to Havana, including individuals who had previously passed through ICE facilities and the Guantánamo Naval Base. The use of Guantánamo as an immigration detention center is part of a broader debate on U.S. immigration policies. Follow all the details in our U.S. Immigration section.
Key Insights on Guantánamo's Immigration Operations
Why is the Guantánamo Bay immigration operation so expensive?
The operation is expensive due to the significant number of personnel involved and the infrastructure costs, such as the $2.85 million spent on unused tents. Despite high expenses, the facility has housed few migrants, raising concerns over resource allocation.
How many migrants have been processed at Guantánamo Bay since February 2025?
Approximately 852 adult men have been relocated from the United States to Guantánamo Bay since February 2025 as part of the immigration operation.
What issues did the Senate report highlight regarding detainee conditions?
The report criticized the lack of designated areas for confidential legal communications and the inadequate living conditions due to structural problems. It also pointed out coordination issues among agencies involved in migrant custody.