With President Barack Obama reported to be finalizing plans to move Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the U.S., a San Diego City Council member Friday proposed a resolution opposing any transfers to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
The resolution from Councilman Chris Cate, whose district includes the sprawling air base popularized in the film "Top Gun," said a move of prisoners "risks the safety of community members living or working on or near the base."
Cate said the naval brig at MCAS Miramar was listed as a possible U.S. location for detainees in a 2012 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The Los Angeles Times, however, reported that California facilities don't appear to have made a preliminary cut of transfer sites in the U.S.
"It is imperative the city of San Diego denounces any potential transfer to MCAS Miramar just as other states, including Colorado, Kansas and South Carolina, have done," Cate wrote in an email to City News Service.
"I believe that relocation of these detainees poses a serious threat to both the local military and civilians in San Diego," Cate continued. "That is why I am asking my colleagues to call on the president and Congress to remove MCAS Miramar from any list or proposal for the relocation of these detainees."
The president promised to close the facility when he was campaigning for office, but congressional Republicans oppose such an action. The Defense Authorization Bill passed by the House of Representatives bars the transfer of the detainees to U.S. soil.
The detention center at Guantanamo Bay was set up in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but the facility, which reportedly holds 112 detainees, is opposed by human rights organizations.
Cate's resolution, scheduled to be introduced to the City Council at Tuesday's meeting, "strongly urges the president and Congress to remove MCAS Miramar from consideration for the relocation of Guantanamo Bay detainees."
