U.S. plans to send illegal immigrants to Libya via military flights

The Trump administration plans to send illegal immigrants to Libya via military flights as soon as Wednesday, just three weeks after the Supreme Court temporarily suspended the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador who were accused of being gang members.

The Trump Administration's deportations to countries like El Salvador are being carried out under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, legislation normally applied in times of war.

According to a Reuters report, three U.S. officials confirmed on condition of anonymity that the immigrant shipments would take place later this week, with Wednesday being the date chosen for deportation.

For the moment, the White House, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Pentagon have not issued statements on the alleged plan to send immigrants to Libya.

Likewise, The New York Times also confirmed the news, explaining that the nationalities of the immigrants have not yet transcended.

The news would come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that Washington is evaluating which countries are willing to receive illegal immigrants with criminal records in addition to El Salvador.

"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?'" said Rubio at a White House Cabinet meeting last Wednesday. "And the further away from America, the better."

Rubio had also told the NYT several weeks earlier that the Trump administration's plan was to look for countries to send illegal immigrants with backgrounds: “I intend to continue to try and identify other countries willing to accept and jail as many gang members as we can send them."

Should sending immigrants to Libya materialize, the Trump administration would likely face criticism from migrant rights organizations, especially since the African country is a nation internationally recognized as hostile to immigrant detainees.

Indeed, in its 2024 annual human rights report, the U.S. State Department condemned the "harsh and life-threatening prison conditions" in Libya and warned that migrants detained there, including minors, lack access to immigration courts and due process of law.