Durbin Report Blasts $100 Million Guantánamo Migrant Detention Cost
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 9
Durbin Report Blasts $100 Million Guantánamo Migrant Detention Cost
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 9
Summary
$100 million-plus has been spent on the Trump administration’s Guantánamo migrant detention operation, or about $118,000 for each of roughly 850 detainees, according to a report released Friday by Senator Richard Durbin.
An August Senate staff inspection found 445 government personnel assigned to the base—mostly temporarily deployed military members—and zero migrants on site, reinforcing the report’s claim that the operation wastes taxpayer money and strains military readiness.
Trump had directed Homeland Security and the Pentagon early in his second term to prepare Guantánamo to hold tens of thousands of migrants marked for deportation, but the report said the facility has mainly served as a short-term way station.
The study said detainees stayed an average of 20 to 30 days, though some were held for months, and noted federal officials did not provide comparable cost figures for U.S.-based detention facilities.