The initial flights from the US transporting detained migrants to the infamous Guantanamo military base in Cuba commenced on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s administration intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration, according to the White House.

While Guantanamo is mainly recognised as a detention facility for individuals accused of terrorism-related crimes, its history also includes holding migrants, and last week, Trump directed the establishment of a “migrant facility” capable of housing 30,000 people there.

Trump has initiated what his second administration describes as a significant effort to tackle illegal immigration, highlighting the increase in immigration raids, arrests, and deportations conducted via military aircraft.

The president has emphasised the matter on the global front as well, threatening Colombia with sanctions and considerable tariffs for refusing to accept two flights of deportees.

Guantanamo prison was established following the September 11 attacks and has since been utilized for the indefinite detention of individuals captured during various military operations and wars that occurred thereafter.

Conditions at the facility have sparked ongoing protests from human rights organisations, and UN officials have criticised it as a site of “unparalleled notoriety.”

Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden both aimed to close the facility, but Congress has resisted efforts to shut down Guantanamo, which remains operational.

Currently, it detains 15 individuals charged with militant activities or terrorism-related offences, including several alleged plotters of the September 11 attacks, such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who claims to be the mastermind.

For many years, the base has served as a detention site for Caribbean asylum seekers and refugees intercepted at sea and were utilised in the 1990s to shelter tens of thousands of Haitians and Cubans fleeing crises in their countries.

Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, thousands of undocumented migrants have been apprehended, including individuals accused of various crimes.

An unspecified number have been sent back to Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, and other nations, and Trump has promised to deport millions.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth referred to Guantanamo on Monday as the “ideal location” for detaining migrants during his visit to the border with Mexico—an area where the Trump administration has recently increased military deployment.