The Biden Administration has begun efforts to close the facility in earnest.

Guantanamo Bay, the infamous Cuban-based American prison used to detain those under suspicion of connection to terrorist organizations, has long been a point of contention for US presidents. After the facility was first opened by former President George W. Bush in 2002, former President Barrack Obama pledged to close it down and transfer its prisoners elsewhere. In spite of signing an executive order, however, resistance from Congress prevented Obama from acting on this pledge, and a second executive order from former President Donald Trump kept the facility resolutely open. Now that the mantle has fallen to President Joe Biden, who echoes Obama’s sentiments, his administration has taken an important first step in closing the prison for good.

NEW: The Biden administration transfers a detainee out of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility for the first time, sending a Moroccan man back home years after he was recommended for discharge. https://t.co/mNZsNXnQpC

— ABC News (@ABC) July 19, 2021

Today, the Biden Administration successfully completed the first transfer of a Guantanamo prisoner back to their home country. The prisoner in question is Abdul Latif Nasir, who was captured in Afghanistan in 2002 and sent to Guantanamo. Nasir was recommended for repatriation in his home country of Morocco in 2016 when it was determined his detention was no longer necessary, aided by the fact that he was never actually served with official charges or evidence, but the process stalled out before completion, leaving him in limbo until now.

JUST IN: Abdul Latif Nasser ― who was imprisoned without charge at Guantanamo Bay for 19 years ― was transferred to his home country of Morocco on Monday, making him the first detainee to be released from the infamous detention facility under Biden https://t.co/HM4bttFGvy

— Rowaida Abdelaziz (@Rowaida_Abdel) July 19, 2021

“This transfer cannot make up for the two decades of his life that Abdul Latif has lost, held prisoner without charge, but we welcome his return to Moroccan soil at long last,” Katie Taylor, Deputy Director of legal charity Reprieve, said. “Other transfers of prisoners cleared for release must follow without delay.”