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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2024
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IRAP | Spencer Tilger | media@refugeerights.org
131 HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS DEMAND BIDEN ADMINISTRATION STOP DETAINING REFUGEES AT GUANTANAMO BAY
Letter Follows Release of IRAP Report Exposing Inhumane Detention of Refugee Families
(New York, NY) – Today, 131* human rights organizations sent President Biden an open letter demanding the U.S. government stop indefinitely detaining refugees at Guantánamo Bay, abandon plans to expand the detention of Haitians fleeing violence, and allow asylum seekers who travel by boat to seek protection in the United States. Signatories include immigrant and refugee advocates, human rights experts, and Cuban and Haitian community organizations. The letter was organized by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and Haitian Bridge Alliance. The letter was covered as an exclusive in the Miami Herald.
In the letter, the organizations “demand that your administration close the Guantánamo Migrant Operations Center and process asylum seekers encountered at sea in a manner consistent with U.S. human rights obligations. The U.S. government cannot continue to hide its diversion and mistreatment of asylum seekers by exiling them to Guantánamo, out of reach of their families, advocates, public consciousness – and the law.”
Last month, IRAP published Offshoring Human Rights: Detention of Refugees at Guantánamo Bay, a report exposing inhumane detention practices at the Cuban naval base, including the indefinite detention of refugee children and families, lack of access to legal counsel, and unsanitary living conditions.
Individuals can also send their own letter to President Biden urging him to say #NoToGuantanamo and stop detaining refugees at the secretive offshore site.
“The United States cannot continue to use Guantánamo Bay as a black site for refugees,” said Hannah Flamm, IRAP Senior Policy Counsel. “We demand the government shut down Guantánamo, investigate human rights abuses against refugees held at the detention center, and allow asylum seekers who arrive by sea to apply for protection in the United States.”
“The targeting of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio and the ongoing incarceration of asylum seekers at the Guantánamo Migrant Operations Center are connected,” said Guerline Jozef, Haitian Bridge Alliance Executive Director and Co-Founder. “They are connected by hate, by anti-blackness, by doctrines of superiority, and by xenophobia. Our government, no matter the administration, has been treating asylum seekers encountered at sea as political threats and deterrents rather than treating them in a manner consistent with U.S. human rights obligations and basic morality. The interdiction program was designed in the 1980s and 1990s to target Haitans with brutal and disastrous conditions in Guantánamo Bay. All forced returns of people to Haiti, by air or by sea, must end now. All forced returns of people to places where they would be subject to violence and persecution, by land, air, or sea, must end. And incarcerating people at the Migrant Operations Center on Guantánamo is not a viable or legal alternative. It must end.”
“As detailed in IRAP’s new report, the mistreatment and lack of adequate processing of migrants interdicted by the Coast Guard is deeply troubling, as are the conditions endured by those detained at the Migrant Operations Center after the U.S. government has determined they merit protection,” said Cindy Woods, Americans for Immigrant Justice National Policy Counsel. “The decision to risk one’s life by taking to the sea in order to seek safety and security is not one made lightly—and those interdicted deserve a fair process by which to present their fear-based claims. The DHS should prioritize addressing these concerns in concert with impacted individuals and immigrant advocates.”
“The Center for Constitutional Rights has fought to close Guantánamo since it filed Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. Sale in 1993. The United States’ insistence on keeping Guantánamo open for use as a detention and torture camp violates international law and fundamental human mores,” said Angelo R. Guisado, Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney. “Further, we are enraged at the growing trend–both at the physical border and at sea–to manipulate humanitarian obligations through offshore detention and extraterritorial migration control for the specific purpose of eliding legal jurisdiction, placing migrants in a vicious and inescapable legal black hole. This manipulative and craven State action has been condemned almost unanimously by every tribunal that has encountered it and has no place in modern society.”
“The Migrant Operations Center is emblematic of a broader failure to uphold the rights of those seeking asylum at sea,” said Francisca Vigaud-Walsh, Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA) Director of Strategy and Advocacy. “Maritime migration does not strip individuals of their rights. Asylum seekers intercepted at sea deserve the same due process protections as those arriving on U.S. soil. Our policies must reflect our values, not punish those seeking safety.”
*This list was modified to reflect all signatories as of October 19, 2024, several of whom were inadvertently excluded in the original publication of this letter. The original letter listed 125 organizations.
Additional Resources
- Read the sign-on letter and view the full list of signatories: HERE
- Individuals can send their own letter to President Biden: HERE
- Read the Miami Herald exclusive about the letter: HERE
- Read the IRAP report: Offshoring Human Rights: Detention of Refugees at Guantánamo Bay
- Read more about IRAP’s report in the New York Times and the Miami Herald
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a global legal aid and advocacy organization working to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. Everyone should have a safe place to live and a safe way to get there.
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