Rep Jeff Duncan | Facebook
Rep Jeff Duncan | Facebook
GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan (S.C.) has introduced a bill that would prevent detainees at the U.S prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be transferred or released into the country.
In a statement on Feb. 23, Duncan said the detainees are a security risk.
“Naval Station Guantanamo Bay has long housed the most dangerous enemy combatants captured by our United States military. It is commonsense policy that we keep these terrorists far away from American citizens and out of our judicial system.”
Former President Donald Trump vowed to close the prison as part of his campaign message. Formal reviews have already started and President Biden's administration aims to close the facility before his term lapses.
Former President Barack Obama had the same goal, which was opposed by Republicans and was reversed in 2017 as soon as Trump took office.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also supports closing the facility.
“Guantanamo has provided us the capability to conduct law of war detention in order to keep our enemies off the battlefield, but I believe it is time for the detention facility at Guantanamo to close,” Austin said, as reported by The Epoch Times.
The first co-sponsor of Duncan’s bill, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) opposed Biden's decision.
“Moving some of the most dangerous terrorists in the world to U.S. soil is unacceptable and irresponsible,” Mace said in a statement, reported The Epoch Times. “Regrettably, the Biden White House has announced its plan to move forward with closing the prison at Guantanamo. Any plan to transfer these prisoners to the U.S., such as the Obama-era proposal to transfer the prisoners to the Charleston Brig, is unacceptable. These terrorists are the worst of the worst and should not be held on American soil.”
The Guantanamo Bay detention center was opened in January 2002 to hold people suspected of ties to al-Qaida and the Taliban. At its peak in 2003, it housed 680 detainees. One of the high-profile inmates is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who is accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attack.
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