Bills
| 3.23.22

Do All Detainee Transfers From Guantanamo Bay Need to be Put On Hold? (H.R. 5351)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 5351?

(Updated June 19, 2019)

This bill would prohibit federal funds from being used to transfer any person detained at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the U.S., its territories, or any foreign country or entity until a spending plan is enacted for the Dept. of Defense (DOD) or until January 1, 2017.

The restriction would apply to any person detained at Guantanamo Bay as of October 1, 2009 who:

  • Isn’t a U.S. citizen or a member of the Armed Forces;

  • Is under the control of the DOD or is otherwise detained at Guantanamo.

Argument in favor

Some of the detainees transferred from Guantanamo Bay to other countries have returned to terrorism, so all transfers should be put on hold until a defense spending plan is released.

Argument opposed

The longer that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay remains open and functional, the more damage will be done to America’s reputation by the very terror groups it seeks to thwart.

Impact

Detainees at Guantanamo Bay; Congress; and the president.

Cost of H.R. 5351

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced this bill to ensure that detainees from Guantanamo Bay aren’t released before there are sufficient safeguards in place to prevent them from returning to terrorism:

“The terrorist detainees remaining in Guantanamo Bay are the worst of the worst, and the administration’s plan to release an additional 20 detainees this year in an effort to fulfill a campaign promise puts American lives at risk.”

This legislation has the support of 59 cosponsors in the House, all of whom are Republicans.


Of Note: Guantanamo Bay’s detention facility at its peak held between 680 and 770 prisoners, but in recent years many have been released to foreign governments.

Concerns about the recidivism rate (basically the likelihood of returning to terrorism) of released Guantanamo Bay detainees has led to analysis of the issue. According to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), about 184 of the 620 released detainees -- which is 29.7 percent -- have either returned to terrorism or suspected of returning to terrorism as of September 2014. 25 of those 184 released detainees are dead, and another 39 are in custody, leaving 120 at-large. Of those former detainees at-large, 59 have been confirmed to be re-engaged in terrorism. One released detainee returned to a leadership position in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and has appeared in the group's propaganda videos.

As of September 9, 2016 a total of 61 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay, 20 of whom have been cleared for transfer.

A provision in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act would require written agreements with foreign governments that accept detainees transferred from Guantanamo Bay.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Petty Officer 1st class Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy / Creative Commons)