ICE Transfers Somali Asylum Seeker, Detainee Sent to Guantánamo Bay

Federal immigration authorities transferred Adam Abdullah, a documented Somali asylum seeker, to the high-security detention facility at the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Abdullah arrived in the U.S. in 2023, possessing a valid work permit and Social Security number while working as an auto mechanic in St. Paul, Minnesota, prior to his arrest last December during Operation Metro Surge.

During a phone call from detention, Abdullah explained that officers informed him a flight was bound for Somalia with a refueling stop in Cuba, but he was subsequently placed inside Guantánamo's Camp Six. He stated that he is currently held alongside approximately seven other Somali nationals inside the facility originally constructed two decades ago for terrorism suspects.

'From Miami, they say, "OK, now we go to Somalia. Then, first we go Cuba for refueling, and then we go some other countries to Somalia," said Abdullah regarding the misleading statements made by officials during his transport.

Civil rights organizations have actively contested the use of the military installation for holding civilian immigrants due to severe isolation and punitive confinement conditions. The American Civil Liberties Union previously filed lawsuits against the administration to halt such transfers, pointing to constitutional concerns and a lack of transparency.

Federal enforcement agencies confirmed that the transfers are proceeding under ongoing immigration policies, while legal advocates prepare emergency motions to challenge the jurisdictional legality of holding asylum seekers indefinitely at the military base.