24 January 2016, 12:21 GMT
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — President Barack Obama has yet to finalize a plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but the president’s budget proposal released on Tuesday expects substantial savings by moving hard-core terrorists to prisons in the United States, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at a news conference.
“It is a priority. The plan is just not done yet,” Earnest said on Tuesday when asked about a forthcoming plan by Obama to close the terrorist prison during his remaining months in office.
A major reason for moving existing detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States, besides cost-effectiveness, is that extremist groups use the prison’s continued operation as a recruiting tool.
The president is expected to submit his plan to Congress later this month, where it is likely to face stiff resistance as with past proposals that would also have moved detainees to US prisons.
Of 91 prisoners remaining at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, the Obama administration has said about 10 are considered too dangerous to ever be set free.
