Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “due process” would be followed at the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
Host Kristen Welker said, “Let’s talk about the administration’s mass deportation plans. There are a lot of questions about the announcement this week that Guantanamo Bay will be used as a detention facility for migrants. Will people held at Guantanamo have the same rights and access to attorneys that they have here in the United States?”
Noem said, “Yes, due process will be followed and having facilities at Guantanamo Bay will be an asset to us and that we’ll have the capacity to do there what we’ve always done. We’ve always had a presence of illegal immigrants there that have been detained. We’re just building out some capacity. We appreciate the partnership of the DOD in getting that up to the level that it needs to get to in order to facilitate this repatriation of people back to their country. So, remember, that Guantanamo Bay clearly, by this president, has said that it will hold the worst of the worst. That we are going after those bad actors.”
Welker said, “Is it possible, madame secretary, that people could be held at Guantanamo Bay indefinitely?”
Noem said, “That is not the plan. The plan is to have a process that we follow that’s laid out in law and make sure that we’re dealing with these individuals appropriately.”
Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN
