A federal court issued a temporary restraining order on Sunday, preventing the Trump administration from sending three Venezuelan immigrants detained in New Mexico to the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp as part of the president’s efforts to remove illegal immigrants from the United States.
Lawyers for the trio stated in a legal filing that the detainees “fit the profile of those the administration has prioritized for detention in Guantánamo, i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.”
The lawyers asked a US District Court in New Mexico for a temporary restraining order to prevent the administration from flying them to the US military base. According to the attorneys, “the mere uncertainty the government has created surrounding the availability of legal process and counsel access is sufficient to authorize the modest injunction.”
According to Jessica Vosburgh, an attorney representing the three men, Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales granted the temporary restraining order.
“It’s for the short term. Vosburgh told The Associated Press that this would be revisited and fleshed out in the coming weeks.
The filing was part of a lawsuit brought on behalf of the three men by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, and the Las Americas Immigrant Advisory Center.
Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt both confirmed that flights carrying detained illegal immigrants had been diverted to Guantánamo.
On Friday, immigrant rights groups sent a letter demanding access to people who are currently detained at the US naval station, arguing that the base should not be used as a “legal black hole.” Guantánamo has been condemned around the world for inhumane treatment and torture of detainees, including interrogation techniques.
The immigrants are being held at the Guantánamo detention camp, which was established for detainees in the wake of 9/11. The immigrants are separated from the 15 other detainees, including the terrorist attack planners from 2001.
Trump has promised to expand the detention camp to accommodate up to 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.”
According to Leavitt, over 8,000 immigrants have been arrested since Jan. 20 as part of Trump’s plan to detain and deport illegal immigrants, though hundreds of those arrested have since been released back into the United States.
