A federal court in New Mexico has issued a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration’s use of Guantánamo Bay as a detention facility for illegal immigrants, marking the first legal roadblock in what is expected to be a long battle over Trump’s aggressive immigration policies.
Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales ruled Sunday to block the transfer of three Venezuelan men, who were set to be flown from New Mexico to the U.S. military base in Cuba, where the administration has begun holding certain high-risk illegal immigrants.
This decision comes just days after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Guantánamo flights had already begun, as part of Trump’s broader detention and deportation crackdown.
The lawsuit—filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the ACLU of New Mexico, and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center—argues that sending illegal immigrants to Guantánamo would effectively strip them of their due process rights, creating what they call a “legal black hole.”
“The mere uncertainty the government has created surrounding the availability of legal process and counsel access is sufficient to authorize the modest injunction,” the filing states.
While the restraining order only applies to these three men, attorney Jessica Vosburgh admitted that this is just a temporary ruling, and the issue will be “further fleshed out in the weeks to come.”
Trump has long made clear that Guantánamo Bay—a facility built to house the world’s most dangerous terrorists—could also serve as a secure location to detain high-risk illegal immigrants, particularly those with gang affiliations or criminal records.
The three Venezuelan men in question, according to their attorneys, were accused of having ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, a violent transnational criminal organization responsible for drug trafficking, human smuggling, and extortion across Latin America.
Although the men’s lawyers deny these connections, the administration has already moved forward with expanding Guantánamo’s use. Trump has promised to increase the camp’s capacity to hold up to 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens”, arguing that this strategy prevents mass releases into the U.S. while deportation proceedings are underway.
The White House has been firm in its commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring that dangerous individuals are not allowed to roam free within the U.S.
At a press conference last week, Karoline Leavitt defended the policy, citing the sheer scale of illegal immigration enforcement since Trump returned to office:
“More than 8,000 immigrants have been arrested since Jan. 20 as part of President Trump’s plan to detain and deport illegal immigrants.”
And despite the legal challenges, the administration has made clear that it isn’t backing down.
“We are fully within our rights to use Guantánamo Bay for this purpose,” Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters. “The American people are sick and tired of illegal immigrants being released into their communities. We are putting a stop to it.”
