At a time when we are fighting terrorism and the American people’s number one concern is national security, President Barack Obama is doubling down on his dangerous campaign promise to shut down the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. In February, he presented a plan to Congress to do just that by transferring prisoners to the United States. And just last week, he said he will continue to pursue his unilateral plans to close Gitmo.
The American people have already spoken on this issue – polls have consistently shown that a majority of citizens oppose closing the military prison. Despite the president’s attempts, the American people continue to agree that we don’t want these war criminals and hardened terrorists transferred to American soil or transferred to other countries to return to the battlefield against us. In fact, last November, Congress passed and the president signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act which explicitly prohibits the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to American soil. This continues a bipartisan ban that has been in place since 2011.
In spite of this, the president has consistently tried to implement vague plans to move detainees to U.S. soil. These plans neither contain cost estimates — though the Department of Defense has estimated a $600 million price tag — nor do they contain information on where we will house these maximum security prisoners. In addition, the Defense Department has testified that current law prohibits it from preparing potential sites for a new detention facility in our country.
Last month, nine longtime detainees were released. By transferring detainees to countries that lack top notch security to keep them from returning to the battlefield, this administration is putting our security at risk. The Defense Department’s Special Envoy for Guantanamo Bay Detention Closure admitted that released detainees have rejoined the fight and said “unfortunately there have been Americans that have died because of detainees” who have returned to the battlefield. In fact, there are reports that close to one-third of all detainees released have done just that. Some of these detainees have returned to the fight with ISIS.
This is appalling, and it’s why I will continue to work with my colleagues to block the president’s plan. Last month, I cosponsored legislation that would bring a permanent halt to plans to close Gitmo. The Detaining Terrorists to Protect Americans Act (H.R. 4895) would permanently prevent the closure of the prison and halt the release of Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Guantanamo Bay was created after September 11th to harbor the most dangerous terrorists on the planet, and it continues to fulfill that mission to this day. Some of the key architects of the September 11th attacks are held there. These are prisoners whose sole mission is to destroy the United States and the ones that remain at Guantanamo represent the worst of mankind.
We don’t want these terrorists in our backyard, and I will continue to fight to keep them locked up at Gitmo and the American people safe.
U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-Concord, represents North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District, which currently includes Richmond County.