Somali men told they'd be deported home instead shipped to Guantanamo Bay
Aug 28, 2025
Country of origin: Somalia

ICE told Somali asylum seekers they were being deported to Somalia, but instead flew them to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where several remain detained. Sakariye Abdi Mohamed, a truck driver with no criminal record, was stopped by an Alabama trooper and held nearly a year in Louisiana before being flown to Guantánamo; a colleague described him as a hardworking 'rookie truck driver' who did everything right. Adam Abdullah, a 31-year-old mechanic with a pending asylum case and work permit, was stopped in Minnesota during 'Operation Metro Surge' and moved through facilities in three states over nine months before arriving at Guantánamo, where he has limited attorney access and brief, possibly monitored phone calls. Fellow detainees Abdullahi Adam Mohamed, a mechanic and small business owner, and Hassan Abdi Abtidoon, a former rideshare driver turned back while seeking asylum in Canada, were also transferred there. Detainees describe being shackled at all times, held in frigid conditions with cameras in bathrooms, and have held hunger strikes; family members call the ordeal 'shocking and frightening.' DHS has claimed the group included 'some of the worst of the worst' with criminal histories, though this reflects the agency's allegation rather than confirmed fact.
Sources
- The Trump administration is imprisoning Somali immigrants at Gitmo
- Somali men in ICE custody say a ‘refueling’ stop became weeks at Guantánamo Bay
down-ballot.info·Sep 18, 2026·archived copy
- The Trump Administration Is Imprisoning Somali Immigrants in Gitmo – Mother Jones
- Somali Migrant With Legal Right to Live in US Sent to Guantánamo
truthout.org·Sep 9, 2026
- Somali ICE detainees held at Guantanamo Bay for weeks
sahanjournal.com·Sep 15, 2026
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