On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that it is “absolutely” feasible to house 30,000 deported migrants at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and assured it can be done “safely” until they are moved to their “final destination.”
During a segment on Fox News, Jesse Watters, a former colleague of Hegseth, inquired about an executive order from Donald Trump issued earlier in the day, which instructed the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to initiate the process.
“Can we really host 30,000 criminal migrants in Gitmo?” Watters questioned.
Hegseth’s response was clear and direct.
“We can certainly do that, and we can ramp it up quickly,” he stated, referencing his own time on the island during his service in the Army.
“Having served there, I know precisely the locations where this would occur. Guantanamo has historically been a site for migrants. In fact, during the ’90s, thousands of Haitian and Cuban migrants were temporarily placed there during a crisis,” Hegseth elaborated.
According to The New York Times, only 37 migrants were housed at Gitmo between 2020 and 2023.
“Currently, we face a far greater crisis. It was noted that 7,500 violent undocumented individuals have been apprehended by ICE in just the past nine days,” Hegseth said, referring to a statistic from the Trump administration.
“I assure you, there will be no delays with the Defense Department,” Hegseth declared. “We are committed to acting promptly to ensure the border remains secure, and we will utilize our military aircraft—what we refer to as great tails—to facilitate mass deportations. Guantanamo Bay, Jesse, is an ideal location for this.”
Later in the conversation, Hegseth strongly supported Trump’s proposal to eliminate federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the board.
“DEI will be eradicated from the [executive] branch because we want everyone treated fairly, held to high standards, and focused on lethality and readiness,” he conveyed to Watters.
“We don’t have time to focus on differences, Jesse. One of the most misguided expressions in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength.’ In reality, our diversity is not our strength,” Hegseth asserted. “Our true strength lies in our unity and shared goals. The Pentagon is eager to return to that fundamental mission.”
