It Is Happening Every Day, Every Where
The plan would put a strip along the southern border under Pentagon control, allowing the military to detain migrants for trespassing on a military base until Border Patrol agents could arrest them.
In two months, around 400 migrants have been held there, mostly Venezuelan and Nicaraguan citizens designated for deportation.
After initial plans for a visit from American officials were met with a backlash, Friday’s trip has been limited to a stop at a remote military base.
Since World War II, American forces have been stationed on the island. Today, from a remote outpost, they watch the skies.
Officials have said most of the people sent to the U.S. base are members of a Venezuelan gang but have not offered evidence to support that claim.
A federal judge expressed doubts toward those challenging the federal policy, a potentially favorable sign for President Trump as he seeks to clamp down on immigration.
A court filing described strip searches and the use of restraint chairs on some of the 290 migrants the Trump administration has cycled through the base.
President Trump said the base would house as many as 30,000 migrants awaiting deportation. But construction of a tent city was halted weeks ago.
In 2020, Congress pushed past the president’s veto of a military policy bill to rename the base, which was originally named for a Confederate general.
One of the soldiers was accused in a federal indictment of selling sensitive information to people in China. A former soldier was also arrested.