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Slate News

What Next | Guantanamo Bay’s Comeback Is a Warning

Feb 6, 2025
Andrea Pitzer, author of 'One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps,' dives into the troubling future of Guantanamo Bay as it prepares to house more detainees under a controversial immigration policy. She unpacks the facility’s contentious past and lack of oversight, exploring its implications on human rights and migrant treatment. By drawing historical parallels to past detention camps, Pitzer warns of repeating mistakes and emphasizes the importance of accountability in today's immigration landscape.
29:33

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Quick takeaways

  • The recent announcement to expand Guantanamo Bay for migrants indicates a troubling potential for human rights abuses and lack of transparency.
  • Historically, Guantanamo's treatment of Haitian and Cuban migrants reflects systemic discrimination and the precarious nature of asylum rights.

Deep dives

Reopening of Guantanamo Bay

The recent relocation of migrants to Guantanamo Bay highlights concerns regarding the use of this facility, long criticized for its history. This move raises questions about the treatment of these individuals, as the rhetoric used by officials frames them as 'the worst of the worst,' reminiscent of past justifications for detaining suspects. Historical context reveals that this phrase has often been misleading, as many detainees held at Guantanamo were neither dangerous nor high-profile. The danger of reopening such a facility lies in its potential to become a site of ongoing human rights violations and lack of transparency.

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