A US government operation detaining migrants at Guantanamo Bay and deporting them to 26 countries, including India, has incurred a cost exceeding $78 million, as per a congressional oversight report. The report highlights that the Department of Defense spent $60.6 million during fiscal year 2025, while the Department of Homeland Security allocated around $17.8 million for detention and deportation operations at the US naval base in Cuba.
The mission, known as Operation Southern Guard, was initiated in early 2025 to aid immigration enforcement at the southern US border and enhance migrant detention capacity beyond the continental United States. According to the report, 708 undocumented migrants were moved to Guantanamo Bay since the operation’s commencement, with 691 subsequently transferred to detention facilities in the US or repatriated to other nations.
Flights played a pivotal role in the operation, with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducting 28 charter flights to transport migrants to Guantanamo Bay and 54 flights departing the base for deportation and transfer operations. Migrants held at the facility were deported to 26 countries across various continents, including India, Egypt, England, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Romania, Sierra Leone, and Vietnam.
ICE transported 481 migrants to Guantanamo Bay from states like Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, while 670 individuals were flown from the base to destinations abroad or to detention facilities within the US. The US Transportation Command executed 31 flights between July and December 2025, with each mission costing an average of approximately $708,020.
The operation was launched following President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border in January 2025, aiming to reinforce enforcement and expand detention capacity. A subsequent presidential memorandum instructed the Pentagon to maximize the Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo Bay to accommodate migrants with criminal backgrounds awaiting deportation.
Various immigrant rights groups have contested the program in court, contending that migrants transferred from the US should not be detained at Guantanamo Bay once outside US territory. Guantanamo Bay has a historical association with migrant processing since the early 1990s, initially housing Haitian and Cuban migrants intercepted at sea before gaining notoriety as a detention center for terrorism suspects post the September 11 attacks.
