Hegseth visited the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base this week to visit the migrant detention center that the Trump administration has started using to temporarily house illegal immigrants, which he called an “incredibly professional operation.” In a one-on-one exclusive with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, Hegseth suggested the detention center sends a “clear” message to illegal immigrants that those who break the law could head to Guantanamo Bay.

The defense secretary was also asked about claims by an ACLU group regarding Guantanamo Bay confinement being “tantamount” to solitary confinement, which goes against the United Nations rules on detaining illegal immigrants. Hegseth called “bulls***” on these accusations.

“I know what their agenda is. They want to make America look bad. They want to make our commander in chief, President Trump, look bad,” Hegseth said on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle. “These are top-notch, top-tier facilities run by professionals where they bend over backwards to make sure that medical, dental, healthcare, food, religious accommodations, language accommodations, all exist. No, you’re not going to have universal freedom at Guantanamo Bay. It’s a prison. But they get all the time that they need as a temporary place to send them home. This is about temporarily holding high-profile, high-threat individuals, who then we send home.”

Hegseth also confirmed that he saw detainees suspected of being involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. While Hegseth said he does not “really care” about Mohammed’s well-being at Guantanamo Bay, he said that he is “fine,” adding that he agrees with previous Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Mohammed deserves the death penalty.

Ahead of his visit to Guantanamo Bay, Hegseth had described it as “the perfect place” to house illegal immigrants, citing how migrants were previously housed at the location since “a transit point in the Caribbean.” 

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Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that it is not the plan for illegal immigrants to be held at Guantanamo indefinitely, stressing that the Trump administration will work with Congress to ensure that Guantanamo Bay is used “appropriately” to detain illegal immigrants.

Earlier this week, Noem revealed she had fired several Department of Homeland Security employees who were leaking information to the press.