Gov. Haley Heads To Washington To Discuss Guantanamo Closure
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (CBSMiami/AP) — Gov. Nikki Haley is headed to Washington later this week to talk about concerns over a possible transfer of Guantanamo detainees to places like South Carolina.
The governor will be among those testifying Thursday before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, according to Haley's office. The panel discussion is focused on implications for state and local communities if the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison is closed.
Testimony is also expected from representatives from the Major County Sheriff's Association and the Center for American Progress, as well as Leavenworth, Kansas, County Attorney Todd Thompson, according to the committee's website.
Haley, a second-term Republican, has been outspoken in her opposition to the transfer of remaining detainees. A Naval brig 15 miles from Charleston is among possible transfer sites already surveyed by a Defense Department team, as well as locations in Colorado and Kansas.
Last year, Haley and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback wrote to Defense Secretary Ash Carter that they would not "be part of any illegal and ill-advised action by this Administration, especially when that action relates to importing terrorists into our states," and threatened to sue if necessary.
Prior to that, Brownback exclusively told The Associated Press that Guantanamo should continue to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely because the U.S. is in a war with terrorism "for some time to come." Like the attorneys general, he said moving prisoners from Guantanamo will compromise the nation's security and harm its troops.
Dozens of sheriffs in Colorado have also written the administration, saying detainee movement would endanger citizens. In November, attorneys general from Colorado, Kansas and South Carolina implored the Obama administration not to send detainees their way, saying such action "will create imminent danger" and make "targets" out of the communities where they are placed.
Legislation introduced Monday on Capitol Hill would maintain a ban on transferring prisoners from Guantanamo to the United States. The longstanding congressional prohibition has kept President Barack Obama from fulfilling a campaign pledge to close the facility.
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