Press Releases

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) released the following statement after the White House unveiled its roadmap for closing the U.S. military prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba:

“It is long past time to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.  The prison undermines our national security.  It costs hundreds of millions of dollars to operate.  It remains a blight on our relationship with other nations, whose assistance we need in the fight against violent extremism.  And, perhaps most importantly, its continued operation is fundamentally inconsistent with our nation’s commitment to due process and rule of law.

“Opponents of the President’s plan will no doubt resort to their usual parade of horribles.  Somehow, they suggest, closing Guantanamo and bringing the remaining detainees to the United States would unleash terrorists on our communities.  There is no factual basis whatsoever for this fearmongering.  In fact, the record shows that treating terrorism suspects with ordinary due process—conducting lawful interrogations, bringing them up on criminal charges, trying them in Article III courts, and locking them away in federal prison—has done far more to keep us safe than indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay.

“Some have criticized the President for merely attempting to fulfill a campaign promise before he leaves office.  In fairness, this observation may not be far off the mark.  President Obama campaigned twice—and was elected twice, by overwhelming margins—in part on a promise to close this facility.  The American people and the President have now spoken.  It is time for an obstructionist majority in Congress to step out of the way and allow the President to close the prison once and for all.”