Dear Friends,

Earlier this month it was announced that President Biden transferred Sufiyan Barhoumi out of Guantanamo and to his native country of Algeria. This is good news and is part of a pattern of Biden Administration actions suggesting that the President is acting on his commitment to close the Guantanamo prison. Unfortunately, in the past Congress has made fulfilling this commitment more difficult by passing laws that restrict detainee transfers.

Please write to your Members of Congress now and tell them to vote to end the restrictions on transferring detainees out of Guantanamo.

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are now beginning to draft their respective versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In the past, this bill has been used by Congress to place restrictions on transferring Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. for any reason, even for trial or for necessary medical treatment. Congress has also used the NDAA to place limits on transfers to other countries with bureaucratic hurdles that make transfers unnecessarily complicated.

For the past three years, the U.S. House has voted to lift the restrictions on transfers to the United States in their version of the NDAA, but the Senate has not. The Senate should not continue to support indefinite detention in Guantanamo. You can help by telling your Members of Congress that you support lifting the transfer restrictions in the FY23 NDAA and closing Guantanamo.

Sincerely,

Rev. Ron Stief
Executive Director