Skip to main content EDITION US court blocks Trump administration from sending Venezuelan immigrants to Guantanamo Americas US court blocks Trump administration from sending Venezuelan immigrants to Guantanamo Judge halts transfer of 3 Venezuelan detainees in New Mexico after legal challenge Fatma Zehra Solmaz 10 February 2025 • Update : 11 February 2025 ISTANBUL A federal court on Sunday halted the Donald Trump administration’s attempt to transfer three Venezuelan immigrants, detained in New Mexico, to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Earlier that day, the men's lawyers argued in a legal filing that the detainees "fit the profile" of those the administration had targeted for transfer to Guantanamo. The filing also stated that they were "Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang," CNN reported. The lawyers urged a US District Court in New Mexico to block the transfer, arguing that the "uncertainty" surrounding the detainees’ legal rights and access to lawyers warranted an injunction. Chief US District Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales granted the temporary order during a brief hearing. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the three men, was brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. The Tren de Aragua gang emerged over a decade ago in a prison in Venezuela’s Aragua state and has since expanded across Latin America and into the US. In recent weeks, Trump ordered the construction of a detention camp at Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 "worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people." The White House has since begun flying undocumented immigrants — labeled as a "high threat" and "criminals" — to the detention center in Cuba as part of Trump’s mass deportation plan. The Pentagon announced on Feb. 5 that the first 10 migrant detainees had arrived at a Guantanamo Bay detention facility following Trump’s directive to expand detention space for "high-priority criminal aliens." The Department of Defense said that these individuals are being housed in "vacant detention facilities" and emphasized that their detention is temporary. According to CBS News, the facility is separate from Guantanamo’s military prison, which still holds terror suspects from the 9/11 attacks. At least 14 advocacy groups, including the ACLU, National Immigration Law Center, and Center for Constitutional Rights, sent a letter to administration officials demanding details on the detained migrants, including their names, immigration status, detention criteria, legal basis for transfer, duration of detention, and future plans. "The Constitution, and federal and international law prohibit the government from using Guantánamo as a legal black hole," they wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. related_topics : Venezuelan men Venezuelan Trump Marco Rubio Kristi Noem guantanamo bay Guantanamo federal court El Paso Detention criminals news_share news_share_description subscription_contact subscription LATEST NEWS All Canada denounces attack on commercial vessel in Qatar’s territorial waters Israel’s Netanyahu delays bill seeking to bury Oslo Accords: Report In Gaza, mothers endure hunger, grief and missing children on Mother’s Day Hezbollah says it launched 24 attacks against Israeli army in southern Lebanon Kenya, France sign 11 agreements during Macron's visit Iran seeks compensation from US, stresses sovereignty over Strait of Hormuz: Report Iran says its air defenses shot down ‘enemy drone’ See All Previous Next Previous Is Trump spurring Europe’s pursuit of independence from US? Next Danes hit back at Trump's Greenland bid with $1 trillion campaign to grab California RELATED NEWS US transfers 4 detainees from Gitmo to Saudi Arabia Germany slams US President Trump’s sanctions policy Rubio urges higher European defense spending in call with EU’s Kallas Clinton, Trump listed in 2003 book for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday: Report US markets rejoice as Trump taps Scott Bessent for Treasury Trump’s cuts at Harvard put key biomedical research resource at risk Zelenskyy says he is ‘ready’ for elections in 60-90 days, urges US, Europe to help on security US’ Rubio says nation-states must engage, rejects talk of US-Europe rupture Brussels to donate $23M to UN Palestinian agency India to buy oil from Venezuela, not Iran: Trump