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By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday demanded access to migrants flown by the U.S. military to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the Trump administration has provided virtually no information about the migrants and that the detentions raise questions about violations of U.S. and international laws.
The ACLU and 14 other advocacy groups sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for immediate access to nearly two dozen migrants transferred there this week, including free and unmonitored phone calls and the ability to visit in person.
U.S. immigration detention by law cannot be punitive or deny access to an attorney, the groups said in the letter.
"The government cannot attempt to subvert the statutory and constitutional rights afforded to these noncitizens in the United States by transferring them to an offshore prison and holding them incommunicado without access to counsel or any means of contact with the outside world," they said.
President Donald Trump said in late January that his administration planned to create capacity to house up to 30,000 people at the U.S. naval base, best known for a separate high-security prison used for foreign terrorism suspects. The first flights arrived this week and Noem was expected to visit the migrant detention site on Friday.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has given few details about the migrants sent there, saying the initial cohort of about 10 people comprised alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua but declined to provide specifics about criminal charges or convictions.
"If the AMERICAN Civil Liberties Union cares more about highly dangerous criminal aliens that include murderers and vicious gang members than they do about American citizens then they should change their name," said DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in an email.
The Defense Department and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Mary Milliken)
