US to deport migrants to Libya despite safety concerns

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to charter a series of military flights from the US to Libya in order to deport migrants.

According to Middle East Monitor citing Reuters on May 7th, the flights may due to take off within as little as a few days however the White House has refused to comment on a timeline for the deportations.

The move to deport migrants comes despite the fact that the Trump administration had issued a provisional travel ban on Libya along with 40 other countries in March 2025.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, US Secretary of State hinted that the US is exploring international options for deportations saying that: “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 favour to us”.

Whilst Trump may feel it is in the best interest of the US to restrict the movement of people out of Libya and into the US, he is still keen to explore the option of using Libya as a destination for US deportees.

The US labelled Libya a country with “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions” and willing to use “arbitrary arrest or detention” in their annual human rights report published in 2024.

Libya has been trying to crackdown on migration to their own country.

The country serves as a transit route for refugees and migrants crossing from the south who are aiming to travel north and eventually cross the Mediterranean into Europe.

The Mediterranean is a key transit point for African immigrants seeking to enter Europe, with 679,974 migrants from over 41 nationalities currently residing in the 100 Libyan municipalities.

In response to the rise in migrants, Libya has launched a crackdown on international aid organisations and in April 2025 ordered 10 groups – including he UN refugee agency and Doctors Without Borders – to close their operations in the country.

Middle East Monitor/ Reuters / Maghrebi/ International Organisation for Migration