Civil rights attorneys sued the Trump administration Saturday to prevent it from transferring 10 migrants detained in the US to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, their second legal challenge in less than a month over plans for holding up to 30,000 immigrants there for deportation.
The latest federal lawsuit so far applies only to 10 men facing transfer to the naval base in Cuba. Like a lawsuit the same attorneys filed earlier this month for access to migrants already detained there, the latest case was filed in Washington and is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
At least 50 migrants have been transferred already to Guantanamo Bay, and the civil rights attorneys believe the number now may be about 200. They have said it is the first time in US history that the government has detained noncitizens on civil immigration charges there. For decades, the naval base was primarily used to detain foreigners associated with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Trump has said Guantanamo Bay, also known as “Gitmo,” has space for up to 30,000 immigrants living in the US and that he plans to send “the worst” or high-risk “criminal aliens” there. The administration has not released specific information on who is being transferred, so it is not clear what crimes they are accused of committing in the US and whether they have been convicted in court, or merely charged or arrested.
The 10 men involved in the lawsuit came to the US in 2023 or 2024. Seven are from Venezuela, and the lawsuit said two had been tortured by the Venezuelan government for their political views. A man from Afghanistan and one from Pakistan came to the US, the lawsuit said, because of threats from the Taliban. One man fled Bangladesh because he was threatened over his political party membership, the lawsuit said.
“The purpose of this second Guantanamo lawsuit is to prevent more people from being illegally sent to this notorious prison, where the conditions have now been revealed to be inhumane,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney and lead counsel on the case. “The lawsuit is not claiming they cannot be detained in US facilities, but only that they cannot be sent to Guantanamo.”
The White House and the Defense and Homeland Security departments did not immediately respond to emails Saturday seeking comment about the lawsuit. The two agencies, Secretaries Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its acting director are the defendants.
In a Jan. 29 executive order expanding operations at Guantanamo Bay, Trump said that one of his goals is to “dismantle criminal cartels.” But the men’s attorneys said none of them have gang affiliations, and the lawsuit said four of them were falsely identified as gang members based on their tattoos, including one of a Catholic rosary.
Transfer to Guantanamo violates constitutional right, attorneys say
Their attorneys described their latest lawsuit as an emergency filing to halt imminent transfers and challenge the Trump administration’s plans. They contend that the transfers violate the men’s right to due legal process, guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution
The latest lawsuit also argues that federal immigration law bars the transfer of non-Cuban migrants from the US to Guantanamo Bay and that the US government has no authority to hold people outside its territory, and the naval base remains part of Cuba legally. The transfers are also described as arbitrary.
In addition, the lawsuit argues that Guantanamo Bay “does not have the infrastructure” to hold even the 10 men.
“The reason for doing so is solely to try to instill fear in the immigrant population,” the lawsuit said.
The men’s attorneys allege that many of the people who have been sent to Guantanamo Bay do not have serious criminal records or even any criminal history. Their first lawsuit, filed Feb. 12, said migrants sent to the naval base had “effectively disappeared into a black box” and couldn’t contact attorneys or family. The Department of Homeland Security said they could reach attorneys by phone.
In another, separate federal lawsuit filed in New Mexico, a federal judge on Feb. 9 blocked the transfer of three immigrants from Venezuela being held in that state to Guantanamo Bay. Their attorneys said they had been falsely accused of being gang members.
Guantanamo ‘perfect place’ to house migrants, secretary of defense says
The migrant detention center at Guantanamo operates separately from the US military’s detention center and courtrooms for foreigners detained under President George W. Bush during what Bush called its war on terror. It once held nearly 800 people, but the number has dwindled to 15, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Hegseth, who was assigned to Guantanamo when he was on active duty, has called it a “perfect place” to house migrants. Trump has described the naval base as “a tough place to get out of.”
A United Nations investigator who visited the military detention center in 2023 said conditions had improved, but military detainees still faced near constant surveillance, forced removal from their cells and unjust use of restraints, resulting in “ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law.” The US said it disagreed “in significant respects” with her report.
Lawyers sue to block Trump administration from sending 10 migrants to Guantanamo Bay
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Lawyers sue to block Trump administration from sending 10 migrants to Guantanamo Bay
- The migrant detention center at Guantanamo operates separately from the US military’s detention center and courtrooms for foreigners detained under President George W. Bush during what Bush called its war on terror
Sri Lanka, India forge defense, energy ties during Modi’s visit
- Indian leader awarded island nation’s highest civilian honor
- Sri Lanka, India, UAE agree to build energy hub in Trincomalee
Colombo: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a ceremonial guard of honor in Colombo on Saturday as his delegation signed energy and defense agreements with Sri Lanka, where New Delhi competes with China for greater influence.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake rolled out the red carpet for Modi and welcomed him with a 19-gun salute in the capital’s Independence Square.
He also conferred Sri Lanka’s highest civilian honor, Mithra Vibhushan, on the Indian prime minister.
“This prestigious honor, which was introduced in 2008, is conferred upon heads of states and government for their friendship, and honorable Prime Minister Modi highly deserves this honor. That is what we firmly believe,” Dissanayake said during a joint press conference with Modi, after the two countries signed seven cooperation agreements.
Modi arrived in Sri Lanka on Friday evening from Thailand, where he participated in the annual summit of BIMSTEC, a regional grouping of the seven countries on the Bay of Bengal.
He is accompanied by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who signed agreements on defense cooperation, information and technology sharing, and energy imports and exports with the Sri Lankan government.
Another energy deal was signed between India, Sri Lanka, and the UAE on cooperation in the development of Trincomalee port as an energy hub.
“We welcome the important agreements made in the area of defense cooperation. We have also agreed to work together on the Colombo security conclave and security cooperation in the Indian Ocean,” Modi said.
“The agreement reached to build a multiproduct pipeline and to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub will benefit all Sri Lankans. The Grid Inter-Connectivity Agreement between the two countries will create opportunities for Sri Lanka to export electricity.”
The Indian prime minister is the first foreign head of state to visit the island nation since Dissanayake and his leftist alliance swept last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
The visit comes as Colombo balances ties with India, its powerful neighbor, and China, its biggest lender, which at the same time is India’s main regional foe.
Dissanayake’s first foreign visit as president was to New Delhi in December, followed by a visit to Beijing in January, highlighting Sri Lanka’s careful diplomacy between the two powers.
“Within the Indian subcontinent and Chinese belt, Sri Lanka is caught as a strategic island — not only in the Indian Ocean — between these two giants,” historian and analyst Dr. B.A. Hussainmiya told Arab News.
“Their geopolitical interest is centering in the Indian Ocean and in the Himalayas, so Sri Lanka, being a very small country, cannot hold its strength unless it creates a balanced and nuanced diplomatic approach between these two powers to keep it afloat in the system.”
UK’s Starmer and France’s Macon share concerns over tariff impacts
- The prime minister and president agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron shared their concerns over the economic and security impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs when they spoke on Saturday, Starmer’s office said.
“They agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests, but nothing should be off the table,” the statement from Downing Street said.
“The prime minister and president also shared their concerns about the global economic and security impact, particularly in Southeast Asia.”
The pair agreed to stay in close contact over the coming weeks.
China to US: ‘Market has spoken’ after tariffs spur selloff
- State-run Xinhua news agency also published the Chinese government’s stance, saying the US should “stop using tariffs as a weapon to suppress China’s economy and trade“
- “The market has spoken,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said
BEIJING: China said on Saturday “the market has spoken” in rejecting US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and called on Washington for “equal-footed consultation” after global markets plunged in reaction to the trade levies that drew Chinese retaliation.
State-run Xinhua news agency also published the Chinese government’s stance, saying the US should “stop using tariffs as a weapon to suppress China’s economy and trade.”
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan told public broadcaster RTHK, however, Hong Kong would not impose separate countermeasures, citing the need for the city to remain “free and open.”
“The market has spoken,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a post on Facebook on Saturday. He also posted a picture capturing Friday’s falls on US markets.
Trump introduced additional 34 percent tariffs on Chinese goods as part of steep levies imposed on most US trade partners, bringing the total duties on China this year to 54 percent.
Trump also closed a trade loophole that had allowed low-value packages from China to enter the US duty-free.
This prompted retaliation from China on Friday, including extra levies of 34 percent on all US goods and export curbs on some rare earths, escalating the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Global stock markets plummeted following China’s retaliation and Trump’s comments on Friday that he would not change course, extending sharp losses that followed Trump’s initial tariff announcement earlier in the week and marking the biggest losses since the pandemic. For the week, the S&P 500 was down 9 percent.
“Now is the time for the US to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation,” Guo wrote in English on Facebook.
In a separate statement published by state-run Xinhua news agency, the Chinese government urged the US: “Stop using tariffs as a weapon to suppress China’s economy and trade, and stop undermining the legitimate development rights of the Chinese people.”
“China has taken and will continue to take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests,” said the government.
Washington “seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system, and seriously undermines the stability of the global economic order,” it added.
Earlier on Saturday, several industry chambers of commerce ranging from those representing traders in metals and textiles to electronics, issued statements condemning the tariffs.
China’s chamber of commerce, representing traders in food products, called on “China’s food and agricultural products import and export industry to unite and strengthen cooperation to jointly explore domestic and foreign markets.”
Hong Kong’s Chan said it strongly opposes Trump’s actions and would continue to be “free and open.”
“Allowing a free flow of capital and acting as a free port are our advantages, and this will not change,” Chan told public broadcaster RTHK.
“The rules-based multilateral trading system is our core,” he said.
UN calls for Myanmar support as quake death toll reaches 3,354
- “The destruction is staggering. Lives lost. Homes destroyed. Livelihoods shattered. But the resilience is incredible,” Fletcher said
- Myanmar’s neighbors, such as China, India and Southeast Asian nations, are among those that dispatched relief supplies and rescuers
BANGKOK: The United Nations called for the world to rally behind quake-hit Myanmar on Saturday as the death toll rose to 3,354.
In addition to those killed by the March 28 earthquake, 4,850 people were injured and another 220 are missing, state media said.
During a visit to Myanmar’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, which was near the epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude quake, United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher appealed for international support.
“The destruction is staggering. Lives lost. Homes destroyed. Livelihoods shattered. But the resilience is incredible,” he said in a post on X. “The world must rally behind the people of Myanmar.”
Myanmar’s neighbors, such as China, India and Southeast Asian nations, are among those that dispatched relief supplies and rescuers to aid the recovery effort in quake-hit areas that are home to about 28 million people over the past week.
The United States, which was until recently the world’s top humanitarian donor, had pledged at least $9 million to Myanmar to support earthquake-affected communities, but current and former US officials say the dismantling of its foreign aid program has affected its response.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday the junta was restricting aid supplies to quake-hit areas where communities did not back its rule.
The UN office also said it was investigating 53 reported attacks by the junta against opponents, including air strikes, of which 16 were after the ceasefire was declared on Wednesday.
A junta spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Free Burma Rangers, a relief group, told Reuters on Saturday that the military had dropped bombs in Karenni and southern Shan states on Thursday and Friday despite the ceasefire announcement, killing at least five people.
The victims included civilians, according to the group’s founder, David Eubank, who said there had been at least seven such military attacks since the ceasefire.
ELECTION PLANS
The leader of the military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, reaffirmed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the junta’s plans to hold “free and fair” elections in December when the two met in Bangkok, Myanmar state media said on Saturday.
Min Aung Hlaing made the rare trip to attend a summit of South and Southeast Asian nations on Friday, where he also met separately with the leaders of Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
Modi called for the post-quake ceasefire in Myanmar’s civil war to be made permanent, and said the elections needed to be “inclusive and credible,” an Indian foreign affairs spokesperson said on Friday.
Critics have derided the planned election as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.
Since overthrowing the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, the military has struggled to run Myanmar, leaving the economy and basic services, including health care, in tatters, a situation exacerbated by the earthquake.
The civil war that followed the coup has displaced more than 3 million people, with widespread food insecurity and more than a third of the population in need of humanitarian assistance, the UN says.
Sri Lanka, India forge defense, energy ties during Modi’s visit
- Indian leader awarded Mithra Vibhushan, island nation’s highest civilian honor
- Sri Lanka, India, UAE agree to build energy hub in Trincomalee
Colombo: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a ceremonial guard of honor in Colombo on Saturday as his delegation signed energy and defense agreements with Sri Lanka, where New Delhi competes with China for greater influence.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake rolled out the red carpet for Modi and welcomed him with a 19-gun salute in the capital’s Independence Square.
He also conferred Sri Lanka’s highest civilian honor, Mithra Vibhushan, on the Indian prime minister.
“This prestigious honor, which was introduced in 2008, is conferred upon heads of states and government for their friendship, and honorable Prime Minister Modi highly deserves this honor. That is what we firmly believe,” Dissanayake said during a joint press conference with Modi, after the two countries signed seven cooperation agreements.
Modi arrived in Sri Lanka on Friday evening from Thailand, where he participated in the annual summit of BIMSTEC, a regional grouping of the seven countries on the Bay of Bengal.
He is accompanied by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who signed agreements on defense cooperation, information and technology sharing, and energy imports and exports with the Sri Lankan government.
Another energy deal was signed between India, Sri Lanka, and the UAE on cooperation in the development of Trincomalee port as an energy hub.
“We welcome the important agreements made in the area of defense cooperation. We have also agreed to work together on the Colombo security conclave and security cooperation in the Indian Ocean,” Modi said.
“The agreement reached to build a multiproduct pipeline and to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub will benefit all Sri Lankans. The Grid Inter-Connectivity Agreement between the two countries will create opportunities for Sri Lanka to export electricity.”
The Indian prime minister is the first foreign head of state to visit the island nation since Dissanayake and his leftist alliance swept last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
The visit comes as Colombo balances ties with India, its powerful neighbor, and China, its biggest lender, which at the same time is India’s main regional foe.
Dissanayake’s first foreign visit as president was to New Delhi in December, followed by a visit to Beijing in January, highlighting Sri Lanka’s careful diplomacy between the two powers.
“Within the Indian subcontinent and Chinese belt, Sri Lanka is caught as a strategic island — not only in the Indian Ocean — between these two giants,” historian and analyst Dr. B.A. Hussainmiya told Arab News.
“Their geopolitical interest is centering in the Indian Ocean and in the Himalayas, so Sri Lanka, being a very small country, cannot hold its strength unless it creates a balanced and nuanced diplomatic approach between these two powers to keep it afloat in the system.”
