ICYMI: Hegseth Reveals Cost of Detaining Immigrants at Guantanamo Bay Nearly $20M More than Initially Reported

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense (DoD) revealed that the Pentagon's financial support for the Trump administration's cruel immigration agenda is far higher than initially reported by DoD.

In new answers to Questions for the Record, Secretary Hegseth revealed DoD's projected support for Guantanamo Bay operations is now roughly $73 million - nearly $20 million more than initially reported by DoD - for a facility with a maximum capacity of just 50 detainees. Despite the limited capacity at the facility, Secretary Hegseth reported that DoD has deployed 522 department personnel to Guantanamo Bay.

In December 2025, Representative Garamendi and Senator Warren's found that DoD had committed at least $2 billion to support immigration enforcement, including nearly $55 million to detain non-citizens at Guantanamo Bay.

"When President Trump diverts military resources to immigration enforcement, our armed forces suffer. Critical training is delayed, flight hours are lost, and funds are pulled from military family housing and readiness priorities," said Rep. Garamendi. "These diversions weaken the training, modernization, and maintenance our forces need to stay prepared and mission-ready."

"While the prices of groceries, rent, and health care skyrocket, Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are wasting billions in taxpayer funds on a cruel immigration agenda," said Sen. Warren. "Congress must refuse to give this administration another penny for these political stunts."

New reporting from CBS reveals the Trump administration has detained a total of 832 people at Guantanamo Bay, and that government employees outnumber detainees 100 to 1, raising concerns about the Department's massive spending on the Guantanamo Bay detention.

Meanwhile, DoD has revealed that some financial support for immigration enforcement is coming at the expense of updates to barracks, maintenance hangers, and military construction projects in the Pacific. Reporting from ABC today revealed the Army is making major training cuts to offset a budget deficit of $4-6 billion, partially due to the military's support for immigration enforcement.

In the coming weeks, Congress will consider providing the Trump administration a further $72 billion to fund the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for four years.

Congressman Garamendi and Senator Warren have been leading the fight to hold the Trump administration accountable for mishandling military funds to pursue its cruel immigration agenda and political stunts:

• In April 2026, Congressman Garamendi (CA-08) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), along with Representative Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) and Representative Troy Carter (D-La.), in urging the Inspectors General of the Departments of Homeland Security and State to open an investigation into the Trump administration's attempts to deport people to countries they have no ties to. These deportations use the military to conduct the international deportation flights and detaining noncitizens on U.S. military bases within the United States and overseas.

• In December 2025, Congressman Garamendi (CA-08) and Senator Warren (D-Mass.) co-led the release of a new report, along with 11 other members of Congress, revealing the Trump administration diverted more than $2 billions of military funds and resources from the Pentagon to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for immigration enforcement, and its impact on readiness and morale. The report also revealed that the diversion of funds was happening at the expense of updates to barracks, maintenance hangers, and military construction projects in the Pacific.

• In September 2025, Congressman Garamendi (CA-08) joined Senator Warren (D-Mass.) who led more than 60 members of Congress in opening a new investigation into the Trump administration's practice of detaining and sending immigrants to countries where they have no citizenship or connections of any kind. These deportations use the military to conduct the international deportation flights and detaining noncitizens on U.S. military bases within the United States and overseas.

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