Somali asylum seeker transferred to Guantánamo Bay after ICE arrest

Adam Abdullah, a 31-year-old Somali asylum seeker living legally in Minnesota, has been transferred to the Guantánamo Bay military detention complex in Cuba. Abdullah, an auto mechanic who arrived in the U.S. in 2023, held a valid work permit and Social Security number and had been regularly checking in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Federal agents arrested Abdullah in St. Paul in December 2025 during ‘Operation Metro Surge,’ an immigration crackdown. Abdullah reported that agents did not provide a warrant or a specific reason for the stop. After being held in various detention facilities across Minnesota, Kentucky, and Louisiana, he was told he would be deported to Somalia via Miami. However, during a scheduled refueling stop in Cuba, he was instead taken to Camp 6 at Guantánamo Bay.

Abdullah has been held at the facility for approximately two weeks. He reported being shackled during flights and noted that he is one of eight Somali nationals currently held at the prison, several of whom were also arrested in the Twin Cities area. His attorney, Marc Prokosch, noted that phone calls for detainees are strictly limited.