The United States spent 40 million dollars to imprison about 400 immigrants in Guantanamo

Five members of the Senate who visited the US base in Guantenamo Bay, Cuba, criticized the migrants’ mission there during the weekend as a waste of resources, after the Pentagon estimated that the process cost $ 40 million in the first month.

On Friday, the Senate delegation toured immigration and customs enforcement facilities, where about 85 migrants, including in prison for years, were detained in wartime associated with al -Qaeda.

Senators also spoke with officials from the defense and internal security departments. About 1,000 government employees, most of whom are the army, work in the immigrant process.

The administration has sent less than 400 men, at least half of them is Venezuelin, to Al Qaeda since February as part of President Trump’s campaign for illegal immigration. The authorities have returned to about half of them to facilities in the United States without explaining the reason for dozens of people needing Guantenamo for a short stay.

As of Sunday, there were 105 migration detainees at the base.

Senator Jacques Red from Rod Island, who was part of the delegation, made the administration on Sunday because of “the transfer of forces from their initial tasks to Guantenamo.

In an interview, Mr. Reed, Democrat at the Armed Services Committee, said in an interview that he was provided with an estimate that the operation cost $ 40 million in the first month.

“All this is very expensive and unnecessary,” he said. Instead, the administration must “try to enhance the ice facilities in the United States.”

Others on the trip was Senator Jin Shaheen from New Hampshire, the largest Democrat in the Foreign Relations Committee; Gary Peters from Michigan, the best democratic for the Internal Security Committee; Alex Badilla, Democratic California; And Angus King, independent of Maine.

The Ministry of Defense advised Congress that as of March 12, the Guantananamo immigrant process cost $ 39.3 million, according to the aides of Congress, who spoke on the condition that his identity was not disclosed because the Pentagon and Congress communications are sensitive. This estimate covered a six -week period when the Trump administration moved 290 immigrants there, including 177 Venezuelan who returned home.

On Friday, the Senate trip was a low event compared to another by the defense secretary Higseth House and Christie’s callsThe Minister of Internal Security, with whom each of the news photographers brought. But as during their visits, Senators were there when the administration flew into a small number of immigrants: 13 Nicaragua from a ice facility in Louisiana. Tricia McLeulin, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Internal Security, described it as “gang members”.

Saturday, hours after the delegation He issued a statement The administration urged “immediately stopping this misleading task”, brought the C-130 Air Force Antonio Antonio 12 additional immigrants to the operation.

This was the first military shuttle to carry migrants to Guantanamo since ICE began using less expensive rented aircraft to transport immigrants to and from Al Qaeda on February 28.

“After examining the transportation activities of migrants in Guantanamo Bay, we feel angry with the scope and misuse of the Trump administration of our army,” the five Senate members said in the statement.

They called the immigrant process “unnecessary expensive, and they work under a doubtful legal authority, and a blow to our military preparation.”

Guantanamo is a particularly costly place because it was cut off from the rest of the island by the Kobe Minefield. The base produces its energy and water, and the supplies of Florida are shipped by the barge and aircraft.

The delegation was criticizing the mission, but not among the 900 army personnel and 100 internal security personnel who were filled to al -Qaeda for its implementation.

The statement said that some forces “were transferred to Guantenamo Bay without warning, and left their decisive daily military tasks in order to build tents that should never be filed and the immigrants who should not be held there.”

“This will be the best economist and also in terms of legal clarity if the army is not involved,” continued.

Ice is decided when you need military aircraft and the Pentagon provides, according to government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss arrangements.

Congress assistants said that the operation is governed by a secret note of understanding between the defense and internal security departments that the migrants who have relations with criminal organizations are only sent to the Bay of Guantenamo.

Mr. Higseth said On January 30, Guantenamo was a temporary transit point for “violent criminal illegitis while deporting outside the country.”

However, the administration refused to provide evidence that foreign citizens detained at al -Qaeda have violent criminal records. Checks, some of them publicly showed that their crimes amount to illegally entering the United States, and sometimes more than once.

The Ministry of Internal Security has placed 395 migrants in the Bay of Guantanamo, some for only for several days, since the first ten was brought there on February 4, according to the New York Times from transportation.

On February 20, the United States sent 177 Venezuelan from Guantenamo to Honduras, where they were placed on a Venezuelan plane and were transported to the house.

All others have been returned to ICE facilities in the United States and in some known cases were deported from there.