ICE moves illegal Venezuelan migrants from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras for deportation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Thursday transported over 100 illegal Venezuelan migrants from its Guantanamo Bay detention center, in Cuba, to Honduras for deportation. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to have the departments of Defense and Homeland Security expand Guantanamo Bay to hold thousands of illegal immigrants coming from the U.S. Former President George W. Bush's administration established the center after the Sep. 11, 2001, terror attacks to detain terror suspects.

The Trump administration previously stated that the location would be a transitional place for criminal illegal immigrants who were in the process of being deported, in order to get them off the U.S. mainland faster. 

ICE officials on Thursday said the migrants are being returned to Venezuela, which is part of the administration's arrangements with the Colombian, Venezuelan and El Salvadoran governments to take in people deported by the U.S.

“ICE Air Operations transported 177 Venezuelan illegal aliens from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras today for pickup by the Venezuelan government, which returned them to their home country,” ICE wrote on X, confirming reports of transfers.

The deportations come a week after two Venezuelan flights took another 190 illegal migrants directly from the United States back to their homeland. 

The administration has put an emphasis on deporting illegal migrants who have committed crimes or have exhausted all legal appeals for remaining in the U.S. This includes nearly 1.5 million migrants who had final removal orders as of Nov. 24, including more than 22,000 Venezuelans, according to the Associated Press. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.