New Mexico judge preemptively blocks transfer to Guantanamo: NPR

In this photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, the 2019 Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Military Commission Building Office used to periodically review the Commission’s hearings.

Alex Brandon/AP File Photos

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Alex Brandon/AP File Photos

A federal court in New Mexico preemptively prevented the Trump administration from sending three Venezuelans to Guantanamo Bay. This is the first legal hurdle for the Trump administration as it attempts to send thousands of immigrants to detention centers at naval bases near Cuba.

Three Venezuelans detained by federal immigration officials in New Mexico filed a motion seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent their transfer to Guantanamo Bay because they are “completely suitable for the profile of someone who has been transferred and worried about such a transfer” is imminent file.

New Mexico Judge Kenneth Gonzales approved the motion Sunday night.

Trump plans to send 30,000 immigrants to the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, which is facilitated by executive orders and may face additional legal, logistical and political challenges.

Sailors and the Coast Guard set up tents at immigration facilities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. President Trump directed the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare for 30,000 detained immigrants.

The U.S. brought the first batch of immigrants to temporary housing facilities there last week, and U.S. officials said they would be detained separately from the U.S. military prison, which is suspected of allegedly suspected of foreign terrorists, including Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on 9/11.

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment on the interim restraining order.

New Mexico's orders are limited to these three people and will not prevent others from being transferred to the Guantanamo facility.

Immigration lawyers say moving people out of the mainland can limit legal access and due process.

“Send immigrants from the United States to Guantanamo and hold their unacceptable lawyers or outsiders, opening a new shameful chapter in the history of this infamous prison,” Lee Gay, deputy director of the Immigration Rights Program for Civil Liberties in the United States. Lee Gelernt union said in a statement. The ACLU wrote to the head of the federal agency responsible for overseeing the turnover on Friday, asking for more information.

“It is illegal for our administration to use Guantanamo as a legal black hole, but that's exactly what the Trump administration is doing,” Galent said.

In this photo, U.S. military officers, an Army soldier, right and a Marine Corps are placed in front of the gate, separating the Cuban side from the U.S. Naval Base Area on June 6, 2018.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who visited the base last week, said the United States only wants to leave the base people at the base before sending it to another country.

“My goal is that people are not in these facilities for weeks and months. My goal is to stay short-term, and they are able to incarcerate them, take them away, follow these processes and bring them back to their country ,” Norm said on CNN Internal politics On Sunday. But she added that she would not rule out the possibility that some people would stay at the base for weeks or even months.