Guantanamo migrant detainees granted phone access to attorneys, court filing reveals

Migrants held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay are now being allowed to communicate with their attorneys by phone, according to a new court filing from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The disclosure comes as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by advocacy groups against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The legal challenge seeks increased access for detainees to legal representation and argues that some individuals held at the facility may not pose the high-level security threat the administration claims.

In a court filing released Thursday, ICE official Juan Agudelo confirmed that migrant detainees at Guantanamo now have phone access to legal counsel. The agency is also assessing the "feasibility and necessity" of permitting in-person attorney visits.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Washington, D.C., represents the families of detainees and several legal organizations demanding greater legal access to those being held.

According to Agudelo, 178 detainees—all Venezuelan nationals—are currently being held at the Guantanamo facility, and all have final orders of removal. On Thursday, ICE announced that 177 of those detainees were being deported back to Venezuela.

As part of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement measures, Guantanamo Bay has been used to detain individuals the administration has labeled as “the worst of the worst”—migrants deemed particularly dangerous.

However, earlier this week, ABC News reported that the families of two detainees claimed their relatives had no known criminal records, contradicting DHS assertions.

ICE maintains that some of the individuals held at Guantanamo have ties to violent criminal organizations. In Agudelo’s filing, he stated that two of the three detainees named in the lawsuit were suspected members of Tren de Aragua, a notorious Venezuelan gang.

On Feb. 17, at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), three detainees involved in the lawsuit were granted access to speak with legal counsel.

Despite the deportations, legal battles over migrant detainment at Guantanamo Bay are expected to continue, with advocates demanding clearer policies on who is sent to the facility and how they can access due process.