Satellite analysis shows rapid dash to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay

Satellite imagery of the Guantanamo Bay naval base shows the rapid construction of more than a hundred new structures as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to house tens of thousands of migrants at the facility.

The satellite imagery from Planet Labs analyzed by ABC News shows roughly 175 new structures -- mainly temporary buildings and canvas tents -- constructed between Feb. 2 and Feb. 19.

The Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay has intermittently been used to house migrants -- such as processing Haitian and Cuban refugees interdicted at sea -- but Trump's Jan. 29 announcement that he plans to send the "'worst criminal illegal aliens" to the base supercharged an effort to expand the complex.

Between Trump's announcement and the first flight of migrants to the facility on Feb. 5, approximately 50 new structures were assembled near Leeward Point Field, a military airfield that directly abuts the inlet to Guantanamo Bay, according to satellite imagery reviewed by ABC News.

“The Department of Defense is committed to ensuring that all individuals housed in these temporary facilities are treated in accordance with DHS/ICE standards,” a DHS official told ABC News.

Based on satellite images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, construction appears to have begun Feb. 2. Most of the structures appeared to be canvas tents,  seen in an image shared by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on her visit to the naval base.

Shortly after the first flight of migrants arrived at Guantanamo Bay on Feb. 5, construction at the facility ramped up with 125 new structures rapidly assembled near the airfield, satellite images show. A Department of Homeland Security official confirmed to ABC News that military members have erected a total of 195 tents “in preparation to temporarily house illegal aliens.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the facility as the "perfect place" to house "high-priority criminal aliens" before they are deported; however, none of the tents have so far been used to house detained migrants, according to a DHS official.

Instead, the Trump administration has so far opted to house migrants at Guantanamo’s Migrant Operations Center -- which can hold up to 50 detainees – as well as prison facilities separate from where the 15 enemy combatants from the War on Terror are housed. The recently constructed tents have not been used because the facilities don’t meet the standards for housing migrants set by the Department of Homeland Security, including having air conditioning, according to two U.S. officials.

Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey said, during a hearing two weeks ago, that the tents were designed to house 2,500 people and serve as an overflow location for Guantanamo’s Migrant Operations Center. The facilities might be expanded during later phases of construction, according to Holsey.

According to a U.S. official, 178 migrants were housed at Guantanamo earlier in February, with approximately 50 at the Migrant Operations Center. Most of the migrants were housed at the prison for enemy combatants.

Migrants who were briefly housed at Guantanamo Bay described the facilities as cramped and dilapidated, alleging they were only allowed outside twice during their two weeks there and denied access to their attorneys.

"When we got there, the rooms had cobwebs, they had a disgusting smell, a disgusting room that seemed like it had never been opened, like when you open a room and you feel that horrible humidity smell," one former detainee described to ABC News.

By Feb. 20, the first group of migrants left the island, with 176 flown to Honduras and two sent back to the U.S. A new group of 30 detainees reportedly arrived at the facility on Sunday.

While the Trump administration vowed that the facility would be used to house "high threat" migrants such as members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, some of the detainees who spoke to ABC News have had no criminal records at all.

Immigration advocates have pushed to block the use of Guantanamo Bay, arguing the unclear legal jurisdiction and lack of access to attorneys make the facility a "legal black hole" for migrants.

"I would say that it's not fair to take us there because we are immigrants and we haven't committed any crime to be taken to that very ugly prison," said another detainee, Jhoan Lee Bastidas Paz.