The Trump administration is exploring deporting migrants to Libya, multiple outlets reported Wednesday, the latest move as the White House eyes a series of foreign locations for removals.
According to Reuters, which first reported the news, U.S. military planes could fly migrants to the North African country as soon as Wednesday.
The nationality of those who would be removed or what conditions they would face upon arrival.
The Trump administration has been criticized for sending Venezuelan migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador, where it argued they cannot be reached once they are no longer in U.S. custody.
It has also sent migrants from countries like Iran and China to Panama, where they were initially held in a hotel for several days.
The State Department offers a bleak assessment of Libya, rating it as a “Level 4: Do not travel” country due to “crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict.”
A 2023 State Department report on human rights in the country described migrant detention facilities in Libya as rife with “severe overcrowding, insufficient access to toilets and washing facilities, malnourishment, lack of potable water, and spread of communicable diseases.”
It also said the facilities had “no access to immigration courts or due process.”
The Pentagon and State Department referred The Hill to the White House for comment, which did not respond.
The Libyan embassy in Washington, D.C. did not respond to request for comment, but a Libyan official denied that the matter was discussed when approached by CNN last week.
“Deporting migrants to Libya was never discussed. This did not happen. Everything we talked about was as published on the official agenda,” the source told the outlet.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously broadcast plans for the U.S. to secure partners abroad
“We are working with other countries to say: We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings, will you do this as a favor to us,” Rubio said last Wednesday during a cabinet meeting.
“And the further away from America, the better.”
The White House sees foreign deportation both as a way to swiftly remove migrants and as a deterrent to those who might otherwise seek to come to the U.S.
In court, it’s argued it has no way to secure the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador despite an order from a judge barring him from being deported there.
Rwandan officials have also said they are in discussions with the Trump administration to accept deportees.
“It is true that we are in discussions with the United States,” Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said during an interview with RwandaTV.
“These talks are still ongoing, and it would be premature to conclude how they will unfold,” he added.
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