Espinoza Escalona v. Noem: Halting the transfer of immigrants to Guantánamo Bay

IRAP and partner organizations filed a lawsuit to block the U.S. government’s transfer of 10 immigrants from the United States to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba—an unprecedented escalation in the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant offensive—arguing that the transfers are illegal under immigration law, violate basic constitutional protections, and are being used to punish and intimidate asylum seekers and other immigrants. Immigrants transferred to Guantánamo Bay by the Trump administration have reported degrading treatment, punitive conditions, and a lack of basic necessities, adding to the facility’s notorious history of human rights abuses.

Our clients

The plaintiffs in this case were ten individuals from Venezuela, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who came to the United States to seek asylum. They were being held in immigration detention facilities in the United States and faced the threat of being transferred to the military prison or detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay. The administration previously stated plans to hold upwards of 30,000 immigrants at Guantánamo, and Plaintiffs were at particular risk of transfer due to the government’s unfounded allegations of gang membership and criminality, apparently based solely on some Plaintiffs having tattoos. 

Impact

This case aimed to prevent the Plaintiffs from being transferred to Guantánamo Bay pursuant to this unprecedented offshore immigration detention operation, preserving the basic protections to which they are entitled under the Constitution and immigration law.

Case status

• March 1, 2025: Case is filed. Plaintiffs file an emergency motion to stay their transfer to Guantánamo.
• March 14, 2025: The court denies the emergency motion.
• May 22, 2025: Plaintiffs voluntarily dismiss the case.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights were co-counsel in this case.