While Biden should be welcoming all Haitians fleeing from gang violence, health crises, and poverty, he shouldn't be doing so via Guantanamo Bay. Having previously been used for anti-Black immigration schemes under presidents H.W. Bush and Clinton, Guantanamo is a place for terrorists, not refugees. The military-run detention center island also lacks sufficient access to refugee resources and rights observers. Biden should break away from America's history of racist immigration policies and bring these refugees directly, and safely, to the US.
Biden should, at the very least, intercept these Haitians and bring them to Guantanamo. As the 2024 election looms, the president faces a paramount decision: either treat the incoming boats of migrants the same as those coming through the land border — which has been to accept everyone — or immediately block the first wave of arrivals, thus sending a message to future migrants that the trip isn't worth it. As most Americans have now seen the failure of Biden's come-one-come-all policy, he'd best acknowledge their concerns and tighten the immigration system.