ISTANBUL

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday described the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as "a perfect place" to detain deported migrants.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he had directed the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to establish a 30,000-person detention facility at Guantanamo Bay for undocumented migrants.

Recalling his service as an officer at Guantanamo during his 2004–2005 National Guard deployment, Hegseth told Fox News: “Americans think of Gitmo as the images you see on your screen – the detention facilities with folks from the Taliban and al-Qaeda. That’s one part of Guantanamo Bay. The other part is a naval station, where for decades, its mission has included providing for migrants, refugees, and resettlement.”

The official website of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay describes the base as supporting “a variety of missions, including maritime security, humanitarian assistance, and joint operations.”

Guantanamo is also home to a controversial military facility where prisoners, often held without trial, have faced allegations of torture in the years following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.

“Better they be held at a safe location like Guantanamo Bay, which is meant and built for migrants – meant and built to sustain that away from the American people as they are processed properly, to where they came from,” Hegseth said.

The Trump administration has made mass deportations of immigrants in the US illegally a cornerstone of its domestic policy agenda.

A report from the International Refugee Assistance Project last year called for urgent action to end systematic human rights violations at the Guantanamo facility.

The report urged the center’s closure, citing concerns over undrinkable water, exposure to sewage, and inadequate medical care and education for children.