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Government records indicate that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seeking a contractor to operate a migrant detention facility at a naval base in Guantánamo Bay.
"The facility has a capacity of 120 people and will have an estimated daily population of 20 people, however, the service provider shall be responsible to maintain on-site the necessary equipment to erect temporary housing facilities for populations that exceed 120 and up to 400 migrants in a surge event," the job posting states.
"This equipment includes tents and cots, and the contractor must be able to have these assembled and ready with little notice. In addition, the service provider must maintain a roster of at least 50 individuals who meet the minimum requirements of the unarmed custody officer job classification and have a viable contingency plan to deploy these individuals within 24 hours of notification. At least 10% of the augmented personnel must be fluent in Spanish and Haitian Creole. Air transportation to/from the facility is the sole responsibility of the service provider."
The government's search for a contractor that employs Spanish and Haitian Creole speakers has furthered suspicion that the Biden Administration is seeking to send Haitian migrants to Cuba. However, DHS has refuted these claims by issuing a statement to NBC News.
"[DHS] is not [sending] and will not send Haitian nationals being encountered at the southwest border to the Migrant Operations Center (MOC) in Guantanamo Bay," the statement reads.
"The MOC has been used for decades to process migrants interdicted at sea for third-country resettlement. The request for information (RFI) recently posted is a typical, routine first step in a contract renewal, and unrelated to the Southwest Border."
Despite this statement from DHS, many immigration policy experts and journalists are skeptical of the Biden administration's actions.
"In 1991, Haitian migrants and refugees who were possibly exposed to HIV/AIDs were incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay. Again in 1995, over 300 unaccompanied Haitian children were sent to GTMO. None of this is new. Anti-Blackness is the bedrock of settler-colonial violence. None of this is new. Anti-Blackness is the bedrock of settler-colonial violence," Congressional staffer Aya Saed tweeted.
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