The Trump administration on Tuesday began flying immigrants who entered the country illegally to Guantánamo Bay amid plans to use the facility in Cuba to detain thousands of migrants. White House

The Trump administration on Tuesday began flights transporting "criminal aliens" to Guantanamo Bay, with plans in the works to use the Cuban detention facility to eventually hold thousands of other migrants.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday the first flights of undocumented immigrants from the U.S. to Guantánamo Bay in Cuba were underway—following an escalation of arrests across the country as part of what President Donald Trump has promised would be the “largest deportation operation” in U.S. history.