Ten illegal aliens facing transfer from Texas to a holding facility at the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on March 1. The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, claimed that the "arbitrary and capricious" transfers violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the First Amendment's due process clause, and the Immigration and Nationality Act, and requested a stay.

In the time since, seven of the plaintiffs have been sent packing, including Maiker Espinoza Escalona, who was identified by the Department of Homeland Security as a lieutenant of the Venezuelan terrorist gang Tren de Aragua. The remaining plaintiffs threw in the towel on Thursday, indicating they "no longer wish to continue litigating this case."

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, chief among the defendants named in the lawsuit, had a two-word response to the voluntary dismissal of the action: "Suck it."

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While some online responded positively to the taunt, calling it "based," others, particularly critics on the left, characterized the Homeland Security secretary's message — which appeared on her official government account on X — as "cruel," "classless," and "disgraceful."

'How evil and depraved.'

Former Biden DHS spokesman Alex Howard wrote, "If we're lucky, it'll only take years to undo the damage Kristi Noem has inflicted on DHS, its workforce, and its reputation in just four months. This behavior is beneath the office and an embarrassment to the institution."

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, was among those who expressed disbelief, writing, "This is the official account of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security of the United States."

"This is real," whined Ron Filipkowski, the editor in chief of the anti-Trump publication MeidasTouch News.

One user concluded, "They are the worst of us."

"This is DHS Secretary Kristi Noem saying 'suck it' in celebration over deporting people to El Salvador without due process," tweeted Democratic propagandist Harry Sisson. "She's celebrating constitutional rights being ignored. How evil and depraved."

Blaze News has reached out to a spokesman for Noem for comment.

As the plaintiffs taunted by Noem voluntarily dismissed the case "without prejudice," they could refile in the future; however, the government doesn't appear to think they have legs to stand on.

Attorneys for the government argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the suit; the court lacked jurisdiction to stay the government's exercise of discretion to send an illegal alien to "an appropriate place of detention"; the plaintiffs' claims were improperly venued in the District Court for the District of Columbia as they had never been held in the district; and Noem has the statutory authority to send immigration detainees to Guantánamo.

'Very thankful that they are off the streets of the United States and that we have safer communities.'

President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on Jan. 29 directing Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "to take all appropriate actions to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay to full capacity to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States."

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The stated aim of this initiative was "to halt the border invasion, dismantle criminal cartels, and restore national sovereignty."

The Pentagon established Joint Task Force Southern Guard to work with the DHS to fulfill Trump's order.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters there were roughly 70 illegal aliens presently detained at Guantánamo.

Noem told CNN talking head Dana Bash during a February interview at Guantánamo Bay that the individuals transported to the base "are the worst of the worst that we pulled off of our streets. ... Murderers, rapists."

"When I was there, I was able to watch one of the flights landing and them unload about 15 different of these criminals. Those were mainly child pedophiles, those that were out there trafficking children, trafficking drugs, and were pulled off of our streets and put at this facility," continued Noem. "Very thankful that they are off the streets of the United States and that we have safer communities."

The secretary noted further that efforts were underway to accommodate 30,000 detainees.

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