Laura Ingraham gets exclusive look at Gitmo, talks Trump's plan for illegal migrants with DOD's Pete Hegseth
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Fox News host Laura Ingraham an exclusive look at Guantánamo Bay, where some illegal migrants are being held as part of the Trump administration’s illegal immigration crackdown.
Beginning the trip early out of Joint Base Andrews, Ingraham shared highlights of her travels to the 45-square-mile military base in southeastern Cuba during “The Ingraham Angle” Wednesday.
The base is best known for detaining terrorism suspects, including those behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. President Donald Trump authorized the detention of certain illegal immigrants at the facility shortly after taking office on Jan. 20.
DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH ARRIVES AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CALLS IT ‘FRONT LINES OF THE WAR’ ON SOUTHERN BORDER
In January, Trump said he wanted to expand immigrant detention centers at Guantánamo to hold as many as 30,000 people.
“We’re here aboard the Department of Defense government plane on the way to Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, where everybody knows there are flights of illegal immigrants arriving on a regular basis. That is the administration’s decision as a way station before they are returned home,” Ingraham said.
Hegseth arrived at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Tuesday, his first trip to the naval installation since being confirmed to his post in January.
Hegseth, who served as a U.S. Army lieutenant at Guantánamo from 2004–05 with the New Jersey National Guard, was expected to receive briefings on all mission operations at the base, including the detention facility where illegal migrants deported from the United States are housed before being flown back to their native countries.
The Trump defense secretary addressed reports circulating in the media about alleged mistreatment and inhumane conditions at Gitmo. He said the claims, like one article from The Washington Post, were “B.S.” and added, “this idea that people are being mistreated is absolute garbage.”
Hegseth described the living conditions for migrants held in Gitmo as “austere” and “basic, but it’s every basic amenity that you could need is provided.”
He added that detainees receive different kinds of amenities and care, including “medical checks, dental checks, health care checks, welfare checks [and] recreational opportunities.”
“This is about temporarily holding high-profile, high-threat individuals who, then, we send home.”
DEFENSE SECRETARY HEGSETH SAYS GUANTANAMO BAY IS ‘PERFECT PLACE’ TO HOLD MIGRANTS ‘SAFELY IN THE INTERIM’
Ingraham also pressed Hegseth on his message for the cartels, many of which the Trump administration has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
“We’re taking nothing off the table. Nothing. We will do whatever it takes to secure the American homeland, to maintain our sovereignty and protect the American people.”
The Army veteran also said he did not “rule anything out” when asked about potential strikes inside Mexico on fentanyl labs.
“Anything’s on the table. The commander-in-chief, ultimately, with my consultation, with the chairman and others, will make those determinations, but nothing is off the table. Our sovereignty will be defended.”
Last week, nearly 200 Venezuelan illegal migrants arrested in the United States were flown back from Guantánamo Bay after Venezuela expressed interest in accepting its citizens, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Earlier this month, two Venezuelan flights carried 190 illegal immigrants from the United States to the South American nation.
The U.S. government has alleged that Venezuelan illegal immigrants transferred to the naval base are members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. Trump has turned the gang into the face of the alleged threat posed by immigrants living in the country illegally.
Shortly after Ingraham arrived at Gitmo, she reported that a migrant flight from Fort Bliss landed, transporting nine high-value detainees.
“It’s an incredibly professional operation,” Hegseth said, reflecting on his time at Guantánamo Bay during his military service.
“The message is clear: If you break the law, if you are a criminal, you can find your way at Guantánamo Bay. You don’t want to be at Guantánamo Bay, which is where we housed al Qaeda after 9/11. They’re professionals. They do their job. It’s not easy. It’s not an easy time. It’s a maximum-security prison.”
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
