A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week is challenging the federal government’s decision to transfer noncitizens in immigration custody to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The case, Espinoza Escalona et al. v. Noem et al., seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, along with a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that these transfers exceed statutory authority and violate constitutional protections.
The plaintiffs, a group of individuals currently held in U.S. immigration detention facilities, argue that the transfers are unlawful under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and arbitrary under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
They also claim that the conditions of their detention at Guantánamo Bay violate the due process protections of the Fifth Amendment. According to the complaint, the government’s actions mark a significant departure from past immigration enforcement practices, as noncitizens detained on U.S. soil have not previously been transferred to Guantánamo for civil immigration detention.
The lawsuit asserts that these individuals are being held in restrictive conditions, with limited access to legal representation and no ability to contact their families.
“Detainees are confined in solitary, windowless cells for at least 23 hours per day, if not more,” the complaint states.
It further alleges that detainees “are constantly shackled and invasively strip searched” and that “guards engage in verbal and physical abuse, including restraining people to a ‘punishment chair’ for hours, withholding water as retaliation, threatening to shoot detainees, and fracturing an individual’s hand by slamming a radio into it.”
The lawsuit challenges the legal basis for these transfers, arguing that the INA does not provide for detention at Guantánamo Bay.
“Never before has the federal government moved noncitizens apprehended and detained in the United States on civil immigration charges to Guantánamo,” the complaint states. It further argues that Guantánamo is considered part of Cuba under the INA, meaning that transferring individuals there constitutes an unlawful removal under U.S. immigration law.
The plaintiffs contend that “the government lacks statutory authority to send any immigration detainees from the United States to Guantánamo” and that the transfers are “per se illegal, even apart from the horrific detention conditions and the lack of meaningful access to counsel or the outside world.”
The lawsuit also raises concerns about the government’s justification for the transfers. According to the complaint, officials have characterized the individuals sent to Guantánamo as “the worst of the worst,” referring to them as gang members and violent criminals. However, the plaintiffs argue that these claims are “patently false” and that many of those transferred have no criminal history beyond immigration violations.
“The government is devoting massive military and immigration enforcement resources to move detainees to an offshore base that does not have the infrastructure to accommodate these individuals—let alone the 30,000 people that the administration aspires to detain there,” the complaint states. The lawsuit suggests that the transfers are being used as a deterrence strategy rather than a necessary enforcement measure.
The complaint also describes deteriorating conditions at Guantánamo, stating that detainees are suffering from extreme isolation and lack access to adequate food, water, and medical care.
“People lost 10-20 pounds over the span of several weeks and cannot sleep because of what they endured,” the lawsuit alleges. It also claims that some individuals detained at Guantánamo have attempted suicide due to the conditions.
Additionally, the plaintiffs argue that the transfers have deprived them of access to legal counsel.
“Until very recently, no protocols were in place for immigration detainees to access attorneys while at Guantánamo,” the lawsuit states.
While some limited legal access has been granted following legal challenges, the complaint argues that these measures remain inadequate, particularly in comparison to detention facilities within the United States.
“Even if counsel can locate their clients, coordinating a call requires assistance from multiple agencies and it is unclear how long this process could take,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also highlights broader concerns about the administration’s use of Guantánamo for immigration detention.
On January 29, 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum directing the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security “to take all appropriate actions to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to full capacity and to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.”
The complaint contends that this directive has resulted in hasty and poorly planned transfers, with detainees being sent to a facility that lacks the infrastructure to house them properly.
“Numerous reports confirm that there is not enough water, food, or other supplies on the base to accommodate tens of thousands of new people,” the lawsuit states, adding that “most supplies must be brought in by barge.”
The government has defended the policy, arguing that it is a necessary measure to address capacity issues and national security concerns. Officials have stated that the individuals transferred to Guantánamo include those with final orders of removal and those considered high-priority cases.
However, the plaintiffs argue that the transfers are unnecessary, given that detention capacity remains available within the United States.
“The government recently entered into several contracts for even more bed space within the United States—adding detention capacity to an already-expansive network,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order to halt further transfers to Guantánamo and to return any detainees currently held there to immigration facilities within the United States. They also seek a declaration that the government’s actions violate U.S. immigration law, the APA, and the Constitution.
“Plaintiffs seek this Court’s intervention to put a stop to these cruel, unnecessary, and illegal transfers to and detention at Guantánamo,” the complaint states.
