Senators Want Captured ISIS Fighters Sent to Gitmo

A leading group of Republican senators is petitioning the Trump administration to reopen the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to hundreds of foreign ISIS fighters captured on the battlefield, according to a copy of a letter sent Tuesday to the White House and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

As the Trump administration continues to take the fight to ISIS forces in Syria and elsewhere, Sens. Tom Cotton (R., Ark,), Ted Cruz (R., Texas), Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), and John Cornyn (R., Texas.) are petitioning the administration to use the prison camp established on the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a holding facility.

The timing of the letter coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the Obama administration's executive order to close Guantanamo Bay. President Donald Trump reversed this order and the prison remained open, but no new prisoners have been transferred to the facilities during his time in office.

With nearly 700 "battle-hardened terrorists in northeast Syria" currently being held by U.S. coalition partners with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the senators fear these captives could escape or be released from custody so they can again take up arms against U.S. forces and allies.

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