From the moment he resumed office until April 8, President Trump's administration spent at least $21 million transporting migrants to Guantanamo Bay on military aircraft, according to US military figures provided to Congress. Nearly 500 migrants have been cycled through the base since January, though there are fewer than 70 there currently. NBC News reports there are just 32 total, while CBS News puts the number at 69, with 43 of those considered low risk. Many migrants flown to Guantanamo were transferred elsewhere or returned to the US, according to previous reporting.
Amid criticism, the Trump administration suspended the use of military aircraft for deporting migrants to Guantanamo on March 1, per the Independent. But between Jan. 20 and April 8, the US military flew 46 flights carrying migrants on military aircraft, totaling 802.5 hours, according to information provided by the Pentagon. The flights cost $26,277 per hour on average. Between Jan. 20 and March 25, 31 military and contract airlift flights transported 715 passengers and 1,016.9 tons of cargo to Guantanamo, the Pentagon said. The contracted flights, which did not involve migrants, cost an additional $1,671,500, per NBC.
Democrats called it a wasteful "political stunt." Sen. Elizabeth Warren of the Senate Armed Services Committee called it an "abuse of power." "Every American should be outraged by Donald Trump wasting military resources to pay for his political stunts that do not make us safer," she said, per NBC. The White House now uses commercial flights for deporting migrants to Guantanamo and just ordered an additional weekly flight, per the outlet. (More Guantanamo Bay stories.)
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