New York [US], May 9: A U.S. judge said any effort by the Trump administration 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.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued an order, restricting their removal on Wednesday after Reuters, citing three U.S. officials, reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration may for the first time deport migrants to Libya despite previous U.S. condemnation of Libya's harsh treatment of detainees.
Two of the officials said the U.S. military could fly the migrants to the North African country as soon as Wednesday, but stressed that plans could change.
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 told Reuters 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, President Donald Trump said he did not know whether they were happening.
"You'll have to ask Homeland Security," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
The Pentagon referred queries to the White House. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
A State Department spokesperson said: "We do not discuss the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments."
Libya's Government of National Unity said on Wednesday it rejected the use of Libyan territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent. It also said there was no coordination with the United States regarding the transfer of migrants.
Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, which controls eastern Libya, also rejected the idea, saying in a statement that taking in migrants deported from the U.S. "violates the sovereignty of the homeland."
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
