THERE ARE NO plans from the Trump administration to send Irish people residing illegally in the US to the country’s facility in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

It comes after reports from local media in the US last night said the Trump Administration was preparing to send hundreds of Europeans living illegally in the country to the facility.

A spokesperson for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs told The Journal that while it is aware of the reports from US media, it is “our understanding that there are no plans to deport EU citizens to Guantanamo Bay”.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that residents from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine may be detained at Guantanamo Bay.

The Irish foreign affairs department said it has engaged with EU partners and American authorities on the issue. A spokesperson for US Department of Homeland Security labelled the reports “fake news”.

Commenting on the reports, which said that there would not be any engagement between the US and its European allies on the issue, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X: “This story is Fake News. Not happening.”

Legal sources working with Irish immigrants in the US said today they had no knowledge of the plans. US President Donald Trump’s election campaign was supported by a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment sweeping America.

He pledged to carry out “the largest deportation operation in history”, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials cracking down on visa overstayers and people living in the US illegally.

ICE’s tactics have led to riots and protests in Los Angeles in California in recent days. The Journal reported last month that undocumented Irish immigrants in the US are not attending routine meeting with immigration officials over deportation fears.

Legal sources have said there is no longer flexibility from ICE officials in dealing with or appealing cases. Its actions have been very visible, with military jets used to ostentatiously deport handcuffed people to foreign jails or Guantanamo Bay.

With reporting by Andrew Walsh