A Marine stands guard on the flight line during a migrant removal flight at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba on April 30, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo )
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Command has conducted 46 flights on military aircraft at a cost of $21 million to support migrant deportation operations at Guantanamo Bay between January and April, according to data provided to Congress.
Thirty-one of the flights were made between January and March to transport 715 personnel and more than 1,000 tons of cargo needed to carry out President Donald Trump’s plans to house up to 30,000 migrants at the U.S. naval station in Cuba.
The figures provided by TRANSCOM come in response to an inquiry by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who has criticized the Trump administration for involving the military in his effort to remove illegal immigrants from the United States.
“Every American should be outraged by Donald Trump wasting military resources to pay for his political stunts that do not make us safer,” Warren said Monday. “U.S. service members did not sign up for this abuse of power.”
Warren and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, demanded answers about the Pentagon’s immigration operations in a February letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, arguing the Guantanamo mission in particular is a waste of taxpayer funds and military resources.
It is significantly more expensive to house a migrant at Guantanamo compared with a U.S. facility and using military aircraft for deportations costs more than the commercial and chartered flights Immigration and Customs Enforcement typically uses.
TRANSCOM said its 46 flights in support of migrant deportations totaled 802.5 hours at an average cost of $26,277 per flight hour between Jan. 20 and April 8. The civilian aircraft that ICE often uses cost $8,577 per flight hour, according to lawmakers.
The military also contracted with airlines such as Delta and United to help transport supplies and equipment to Guantanamo at a cost of more than $1.6 million between Jan. 20 and March 25, according to information provided to Warren.
TRANSCOM recently added another passenger flight to Guantanamo per week, bringing the total weekly flights to three, as the Defense Department prepares to ramp up capacity at the naval station.
Just 32 migrants were being held at the base as of May, according to news reports.
