MichaelMoore.com

Bill would stop move of Gitmo detainees to region

Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa)

By Ed Tibbetts / Quad City Times

An Iowa congressman said today he would introduce legislation to bar the Obama administration from moving detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., the latest development in a political firefight over the prospect.

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, said he would introduce the bill Thursday. The move is the latest in a line of GOP attempts to put a roadblock in the way of moving the detainees.

“I have heard from so many Iowans over the past few days who are rightfully concerned about the proposed location of Guantanamo Bay terrorist-detainees to our backyard,” Latham said in a statement today.

Also today, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was asked about the Thomson prospect in a Judiciary Committee hearing.

Holder, under questioning from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., confirmed previous administration statements that, if the detainees are moved to northwest Illinois, prison security would be improved beyond other federal facilities in the U.S. He also said Guantanamo Bay detainees wouldn’t be allowed visitors. Republicans have raised the prospect of hundreds of potential threats traveling to Illinois to see the detainees.

“That's not consistent with my understanding of how people are held in military detention,” Holder said.

Area congressional reaction also continued to emerge days after the administration confirmed Thomson was a “leading option” for a “limited number” of detainees.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said today he opposes the idea of moving the detainees anywhere in the U.S.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is supportive of the prospect of moving the detainees to Thomson, a spokesperson said.

The administration has said if it moves the prisoners to Thomson, it would convert the nearly vacant facility to a federal prison and turn over some of the space to the Defense Department. Thomson is 50 miles northeast of the Quad-Cities.

About 1,600 federal prisoners would be held at the facility.

The Thomson option is embroiled in a larger debate over whether to close the Guantanamo Bay facility. Republicans have generally opposed it. Earlier this year, Democrats also balked at the idea of moving the detainees to the U.S.

That may be changing, however.

Tuesday, the Senate, mostly along partisan lines, rejected a proposal to prohibit use of funds in a military construction measure to modify U.S. facilities for the purpose of holding Guantanamo detainees. Harkin, Durbin and Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., voted to reject it. Grassley voted to approve it.

In addition to Latham’s proposal, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., has also said he would seek to amend an upcoming appropriations bill to require an impact study before any move is made.

The Quad-Cities’ congressmen, Reps. Phil Hare and Bruce Braley, have not committed yet. Braley toured the facility on Monday and said he was more comfortable with the idea. Hare is slated to hold a news conference today to discuss the matter.