Trump administration may soon deport migrants to Libya, U.S. officials say
Source: CBS News
May 6, 2025 / 11:24 PM EDT
The Trump administration may soon start deporting migrants to Libya, expanding its mass deportation campaign to the troubled North African country, two U.S. officials told CBS News Tuesday. The deportations, expected to be operated by the U.S. military, could start as early as this week, the officials said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal government plans.
Libya is one of several far-flung nations the U.S. government has been asking to accept deportations of migrants from third countries, CBS News reported earlier this week. The possibility of U.S. deportations to Libya, reported earlier Tuesday by Reuters, is a stunning proposition given the deep political and social turmoil the North African country finds itself in, as well as its human rights record. Since a civil war erupted in 2011, Libya has been plagued by armed conflict and political tumult.
The country, itself a corridor for desperate migrants hoping to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea, is divided into two factions. The western part of the country is overseen by a United Nations-backed government in Tripoli, while the east is controlled by a strongman. The State Department has a Level 4 travel advisory for Libya, warning Americans not to travel there because of "crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict."
Libya has also gained infamy over its treatment of migrants seeking to reach Europe, with both advocates and U.S. officials finding that detainees in the North African country face brutal conditions, due process violations and even torture in immigration detention centers. It's unclear who exactly would be deported to Libya under the plans being considered by the Trump administration and whether they would be detained by authorities there upon arrival.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-may-soon-deport-migrants-to-libya/
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trump's DOJ is trying to deport persons to foreign countries to avoid having to give them due process or release such persons when they lose the litigation. Libya is a horrible and unsafe place to send detainees
Lawyers scramble to stop deportation flight to Libya they say ‘blatantly’ defies court order
— Mike Walker (@newnarrative.bsky.social) 2025-05-07T20:11:00.506Z
www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
Link to tweet
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/07/trump-libya-deportation-flight-00333968
Citing “alarming reports” in the media and accounts from some of their clients, the lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking to block a military flight that appeared to be on the verge of taking off from the U.S.
The lawyers say their clients — nationals of Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines — are at risk of being sent to Libya in defiance of an earlier court order prohibiting deportations to so-called third-party countries without notice and a chance to make a legal challenge. They’re asking Boston-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy to quickly prevent any such flights and ensure the Trump administration is complying with his earlier order. They also asked Murphy to block flights to potential “stopover” nations like Saudi Arabia.
Murphy ruled last month that any immigrant expelled to a country “not explicitly provided for on the alien’s order of removal” be given written notice and a “meaningful” chance to contest their deportation to that country if they fear they may face torture or persecution there.
The administration’s apparent plan to quickly expel a group of immigrants to Libya transgresses that earlier order, the immigrants’ lawyers said.