ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: U.S. President Donald Trump on field during the national anthem prior to the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“We have 30,000 beds in Guantánamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump said during an event to sign the Laken Riley Act into law, stiffening the nation’s immigration laws.
President Donald Trump announced an executive order to prepare a 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay, directing the Department of Defense and Homeland Security to set it up. The site, previously used for military prisoners, will house deported migrants.
This declaration came just before he put pen to paper on the Laken Riley Act, marking it as the first piece of legislation from his administration. This law stipulates that individuals in the U.S. illegally who face accusations of theft or violent offenses could be detained and possibly deported even before they are convicted.
The measure swiftly made its way through the newly Republican-controlled Congress, gaining some backing from Democrats despite concerns from immigrant rights advocates. They warned that it might result in large-scale roundups for relatively minor offenses like shoplifting.
