The seal of the Department of Defense at the Pentagon.
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The Department of Homeland Security is making plans to utilize military bases in New Jersey and Indiana for detaining immigrants who entered the country illegally. They are also looking to increase the number of immigrants detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This information was revealed in correspondence between DHS and the Pentagon obtained by NPR.
According to the letter dated July 15, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved the requests made by DHS the previous month. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a part of DHS, requested immediate access to Camp Atterbury in Indiana and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey from the Defense Department.
ICE is also seeking to detain more immigrants without legal status at Guantanamo Bay before their final removal from the United States. The letter stated that DoD approved the support through September 30, 2025, with ICE responsible for the care and handling of the migrants at each site.
The approval letter notes that DHS will pay DoD for any costs associated with migrant detention at McGuire Field in New Jersey. The request for the use of additional military bases and expansion at Guantanamo comes as the Trump administration aims to arrest and detain more individuals without legal status.
In June, Guantanamo was holding about 500 migrants, exceeding its capacity of 200. The plan laid out by DHS calls for space for up to 1,000 people at the Indiana and New Jersey bases and to double the capacity at Guantanamo to 400 people.
DoD rejected a request from DHS for air transportation assistance until more details were provided. In addition to using the military, the Trump administration is expected to increase its detention capacity due to funding from Congress.
