Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a pressing call to the US government to immediately cease the transfer of immigrants to the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, highlighting severe and inhumane detention conditions that could constitute maltreatment. The rights group's plea follows disturbing findings from interviews with immigrants who reported being moved to the facility without prior notice, subjected to incommunicado detention, and housed in unsanitary conditions without clarity on their legal status or any communication with their families.

Juanita Goebertus, the Americas director at HRW, criticized the US's actions, stating, “The US government has taken immigrants to Guantánamo and subjected them to incommunicado detention in appalling conditions. No immigrant or asylum seeker who leaves their country in search of protection should be taken to a place like this.”

The controversy stems from a January 2025 memorandum signed by President Donald Trump to expand the "Migrants Operations Centre" (GMOC) at Guantánamo, intended to detain up to 30,000 immigrants labeled as “worst criminal illegal aliens.” This move has drawn severe criticism from international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, which condemned the expansion due to Guantánamo’s notorious history of human rights abuses.

In a recent incident, nearly 200 Venezuelan migrants were transported to Guantánamo Bay, with many held in high-security areas and others in temporary tent facilities. Subsequent legal challenges and lawsuits have been mounted by organizations such as the ACLU, CCR, and IRAP, aiming to halt further transfers and ensure legal protections for the detainees.

Amnesty International has described the Guantánamo Bay detention center as a symbol of torture, rendition, and indefinite detention without charge or trial, underscoring the facility's long-standing role in the post-9/11 "war on terror" and its evasion of US and international legal standards.

HRW’s call for action urges the US to immediately stop all transfers of migrants to Guantánamo, guarantee due process and access to legal counsel for detainees, and adhere to international human rights obligations, including the principle of non-refoulement which prohibits the return of individuals to countries where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. The group stresses the need for transparency and the protection of rights for all asylum seekers and migrants.