US President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order Wednesday directing the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to expand operations at the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity. Trump ordered the expansion of the center to “provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.”

The announcement authorizing the use of Guantanamo Bay came during a bill-signing ceremony for the “Laken Riley Act” which requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody ‘aliens’ who have been charged with burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also allows state governments to sue the federal government for injunctive relief related to alleged immigration “failures”, if the decision caused the state harm, or financial harm, that exceeds $100. 

This executive order comes after the reversal of the Biden-era “Protected Areas” policy that prevented immigration officials from accessing “sensitive areas” to carry out enforcement measures such as schools, hospitals, places of worship, social service centers, disaster relief areas, and places where children gather. This policy allowed undocumented immigrants to access essential places and services in their communities without fear.

The Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is located on the southeastern coast of Cuba, approximately 430 miles from Miami, Florida. In addition to migrant operations, the Naval Station has provided maritime security and humanitarian assistance in the past.

Since his presidential inauguration, Trump launched an unprecedented wave of executive actions aimed at systematically dismantling policies from the previous administration. He signed several new executive orders related to immigration during his first week in office, including orders seeking to end birthright citizenship, suspending refugee admissions, and declaring an emergency at the southern border.