U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) reiterated his call on the Obama administration on Tuesday to stop the transfer of Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility detainees to the U.S. following Department of Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s statement that the moves are “against the law.”
“Secretary Carter is the second top administration official to confirm what Congress and Americans across the country already know: the president’s potential transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States is illegal,” Gardner said. “The president must recognize that he should not prioritize the fulfillment of a campaign promise over the law and the will of the American people. I remain firmly opposed to the transfer of any detainees to U.S. soil and will remain vigilant in assuring the law of the land is upheld.”
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch previously said that the administration is not permitted by existing law to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States.
Gardner called on President Obama to abandon the transfer plan in September, before sending a letter to the president in October seeking clarification on the administration’s legal authority to enact the plan after learning of the administration’s plan to conduct relocation site visits in Colorado.
In November, Gardner was joined by Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) in a press conference in response to a White House announcement that an executive action to close Guantanamo Bay will not be ruled out by the president.