Enabling US’s WoT Abuses Paved the Way for Trump’s Guantanamo for Migrants Order

London - Donald Trump’s executive order to expand the use of Guantánamo Bay for detaining up to 30,000 migrants, in a legal no-mans land, continues the sordid and illegal legacy of the detention centre. Guantanamo Bay is a symbol of US human rights violations post-War on Terror, including torture, indefinite detention and the lack of due process and should be closed, forever a reminder of that dark legacy. 

The intentional dehumanisation and scapegoating of vulnerable groups to deflect from America’s own failures, a central pillar of the War on Terror rationale, now targets undocumented migrants, many of whom are fleeing countries destabilised by U.S. foreign policy. This echoes the rhetoric of 2002, when George W. Bush, as a part of the ‘ War on Terror’ labeled those kidnapped and detained at Guantánamo as the “worst of the worst.” Such systemic dehumanisation paves the way for abuse and injustice, all under the pretense of national security. 

Trump’s decision is a clear moral failure, driven by years of rhetoric vilifying undocumented migrants and his longstanding vow to keep Guantánamo open. At a time when detainee exchanges and releases have signaled the gradual decline of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp, Trump is attempting to revive its legacy. Guantánamo remains one of the world’s most secretive and costly prisons. For years, evidence of torture has emerged, with survivors continuing to expose the brutal reality of what happens behind its walls.

The families set to be torn apart, the communities left forever scarred, and the possible detention of minors all stand as testaments to the American regime’s abuse of power and lack of compassion. 
Forcibly sending over 30,000 people to a place where the rule of law is nonexistent and justice is systematically denied is an outright violation of fundamental rights. The world must act swiftly and stand united against the resurrection of Guantanamo Bay and the reliving of its horrors once again. 

Mansoor Adayfi Former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, survivor of CIA black sites, and CAGE International Guantanamo Project coordinator said:

“As a former Guantánamo prisoner, I know what it means to be stripped of your rights, your dignity, and your humanity. I lived it. Trump's executive order to detain migrants there is not just another policy—it’s a cruel betrayal of justice, a return to the same lawlessness that Guantánamo has always represented. This isn’t about security; it’s about control, about dehumanizing people to justify their suffering. I know because I was one of them. The world cannot look away as history repeats itself. Guantánamo should have been shut down long ago, not turned into yet another prison for the innocent.

The U.S. has built its power on a legacy of invasion, violence, and broken promises—from the theft of Indigenous lands to the invasions of other countries, the sponsorship of genocides, and the cages of Guantánamo. This is not new. It’s the same cycle of oppression, dressed up in different words. They call it national security, but it’s really the continuation of injustice and abuse of power, crushing those who have nowhere else to go. We must refuse to accept this. We must speak out. Because silence is what allows injustice to thrive.”

Photo from Aslan Media on Flickr