Senate Dems call on Biden to close Guantanamo to advance 'universal rights'

Sen. Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., wrote a letter along with 22 other Democrats to President Biden asking him to shut down the military prison in Guantanamo Bay. 

"As a symbol of lawlessness and human rights abuses, the detention facility continues to harm U.S. national security by serving as a propaganda tool for America’s enemies and continues to hinder counterterrorism efforts and cooperation with allies," the senators wrote.  The White House said in February Biden would seek to shut the prison after a review process, resuming a project begun under the Obama administration. Obama had pledged to shut the prison within a year of taking office. The Biden White House did not offer a timeline.  Obama ran into intense Congressional opposition when he sought to close the detention center, a notorious symbol of the U.S. fight against terrorism. Biden may have more leeway now that there are only 40 prisoners left and Guantanamo draws much less public attention, though his announcement did spark some criticism.