Trump's First 100 Days: Gitmo took early role in deportations prior to El Salvador prison deal

In one of the first moves of his second term, Trump authorized the detention of illegal immigrants at the facility shortly after taking office on Jan. 20. 

At the time, Trump explained the decision, saying that some criminal migrants "are so bad that we don't even trust the countries to hold them, because we don't want them coming back, so we're going to send 'em out to Guantánamo."

The president said the move would bring the U.S. one step closer to "eradicating the scourge" of migrant crime in communities, once and for all.

Speaking of the troops manning Gitmo, Hegseth said, "These warriors are directly supporting the apprehension and deportation of dangerous illegal aliens."

However, the administration soon began running into snags, making it difficult to ramp up the naval base's capacity to accommodate the 30,000 beds that Trump had wanted.

The officials said that the U.S. military was told to set up the tents without clear guidance as to what the standards for holding migrants are, and that the military had not received specific guidelines on what the tents need in order to be certified to hold the migrants. The operation to build more tents was halted in February, just several weeks after it started.  

Despite this, a congressional delegation of Republicans led by House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers visited Gitmo around the same time these difficulties were surfacing.

After the visit, Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital that "it is clear that Guantánamo Bay is operational and equipped to conduct these deportations."

It is unclear whether the U.S. will again hold migrants at Guantánamo. Representatives for the White House and DHS did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment prior to publication deadline.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has begun partnering with the government of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to send illegal gang members to El Salvador's "Terrorist Confinement Center" (CECOT). The U.S. has sent several hundred Salvadoran and Venezuelan migrants to CECOT. 

Fox News Digital's Cameron Arcand, Michael Dorgan, Liz Friden, Jennifer Griffin and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.