Migrant deportation plan: US considers Libya despite ‘hellish’ conditions.

The Trump administration, as of Wednesday, May 7, 2025, is reportedly planning to deport a group of migrants to Libya.

This has sparked widespread condemnation due to the country’s dire human rights conditions and the U.S. State Department’s own previous warnings about the “life-threatening” state of Libyan detention centers.

Although Libya’s provisional government has denied receiving such deportation requests, multiple U.S. officials cited by Reuters have indicated the removals could begin this week, possibly as early as Wednesday.

These officials, whose identities remain undisclosed, stressed that the plan could still change.

Online media news agencies also confirmed the existence of the deportation strategy through a government source.

Although it remains unclear what Libya, a nation plagued by civil conflict, might be receiving in return for accepting deportees.

Human rights organizations have condemned the plan, pointing to Libya’s long-standing reputation for abuses against migrants.

Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn), posted on social media that Libya is “not a safe place to send anyone.”

She highlighted the country’s ongoing civil war and history of torture, trafficking, and ransom involving migrants.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council shared images of Libyan detention centers.

He described them as “hellscapes” where beatings and sexual violence are rampant.

Reichlin-Melnick cited Amnesty International’s reports of slavery and widespread human trafficking in these facilities.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also expressed serious concern.

Claudia Lodesani, MSF’s head of programs, cited a 2023 United Nations report that documented “arbitrary detention, torture, rape, and slavery” in Libya.

She suggested that these amounted to crimes against humanity.

Despite repeated requests, U.S. government agencies including the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and the White House either declined or failed to comment.

The Department of Defense directed all inquiries to the White House.

The deportation plan is supposedly part of a broader Trump administration strategy to expand deportations to third-party countries such as Angola, Benin, Eswatini, Moldova, and Rwanda.

This follows the earlier deportation of at least 238 Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador.

In this broader policy context, Libya serves as a key transit hub for migrants trying to reach Europe.

However, human rights groups have consistently warned that migrants in Libya are vulnerable to abuse from militias and smugglers.

Many are indefinitely detained in overcrowded camps where conditions are inhumane.

The U.S. State Department itself criticized Libya in its most recent human rights report, citing “arbitrary arrest or detention” and “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions.”

The report noted that detained migrants, including children, often lacked access to due process or immigration courts.

Aid groups operating in the Mediterranean, such as SOS Humanity and Mediterranea Saving Humans, have voiced strong opposition.

Mirka Schäfer of SOS Humanity noted that survivors rescued by their ship, Humanity 1, bore physical signs of torture and abuse sustained in Libyan camps.

One refugee described conditions where “people are sold like bread.”

Luca Casarini of Mediterranea called Trump’s policy an “endorsement of horror.”

He accused the president of flaunting power by deporting migrants to one of the “most hellish places on Earth.”

Libya’s Government of National Unity issued a statement on Wednesday denying any agreement to accept deported migrants.

He also asserted that no coordination had occurred with U.S. officials.

The government rejected any use of its territory for such purposes without prior consent.

The move reflects Trump’s continued hardline stance on immigration, a signature issue of his presidency.

Since taking office, he has intensified border enforcement.

He has also pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Still, he has expanded the use of controversial detention sites such as Guantánamo Bay and prisons in El Salvador.

As of Monday, the administration had deported 152,000 individuals.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently revealed that the U.S. is seeking agreements with more countries to accept deportees, stating, “The further away from America, the better.”

He added that Washington wants to offload “some of the most despicable human beings” to these nations.

On April 19, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the deportation of a group of Venezuelans accused by the administration of gang affiliations.

The Trump administration, citing a wartime statute, is reportedly urging the court to lift or limit that ruling.

This supposedly signals its intent to press forward with aggressive deportation policies despite mounting domestic and international criticism.

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