Rounds Statement on Administration Plans to Close GTMO

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today issued the following statement on the Obama administration’s plan to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, commonly known as GTMO. Earlier today, the Pentagon submitted to Congress a plan to close GTMO despite President Obama signing into law last year legislation specifically prohibiting its closure. The plan would cost more than $400 million and relocate nearly 60 detainees to one of 13 locations in the United States.

“Transferring detainees to the United States is a direct violation of laws the president himself has signed,” said Rounds. “Law enforcement officials across the nation have spoken against bringing them into their communities. Additionally, detainees may receive legal protections under the Constitution if they are housed in the U.S. I will continue working with my colleagues to prevent the closure of GTMO, just as we have done in previous legislation, which President Obama signed into law.”

In March 2015, Rounds visited Guantanamo Bay Naval Base with U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). There are around 90 inmates housed at Guantanamo Bay, which has been open since 2002.