A US judge on Wednesday said that any effort by the White House to deport migrants to Libya would clearly violate a prior court order barring officials from swiftly deporting migrants to countries other than their own without first weighing whether they risk persecution or torture if sent there.
US District Judge Brian Murphy issued an order restricting their removal after Reuters, citing three US officials, reported on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s administration might for the first time deport migrants to Libya despite previous US condemnation of Libya’s harsh treatment of detainees.
Sending deportees to Libya, a country with a documented history of migrant abuse, would mark a major escalation of the administration’s push for third countries to take in people being removed from the US.
Photo: Reuters
Reuters could not determine how many migrants would be sent to Libya or the nationalities of those the administration was eyeing for deportation, including whether any were Libyan nationals.
The relatives of one Mexican national said he had been instructed to sign a document allowing for his deportation to the African nation.
Immigration rights advocates said in court filings that individuals potentially subject to deportation to Libya also included Filipino, Laotian and Vietnamese migrants.
When asked about the planned deportations, Trump said he did not know whether they were happening.
The Libyan Government of National Unity said it rejected the use of Libyan territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent.
There was no coordination with the US regarding the transfer of migrants, it added.
Additional reporting by AP
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