Libya threatens political response if US attempts deportations

Tensions are building up between the Libyan elite and the Trump administration about deportations.

The Libyan House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee has published a statement with an exceedingly clear message warning that any attempts to force Libya to accept immigrants who’ve committed crimes in the US would prompt a strong political response, according to the Libya Observer on June 28th.

The Trump administration’s plans to deport “some of the most despicable human beings”, as described by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to Libya have not yet come to fruition in his second term, although they appear to be getting closer.

Despite the travel ban placed on Libya by Trump, on June 23rd the US Supreme Court ruled that the government is now allowed to deport immigrants to third countries that they are not from. 

This means, in theory, that Trump’s administration can send any immigrants, criminals or otherwise, anywhere they want, which would make the deportation process much quicker.

In practice, neither the US courts or the government can force countries like Libya to accept these immigrants. They can make deals with these countries, they can incentivize them to accept but Libya’s Foreign Affairs Committee has been clear that Libya will not yield.

The committee’s statement described the plans to start deporting immigrants to Libya as a blatant violation of Libya’s sovereignty and a breach of international and diplomatic norms, according to the Libya Observer.

Ignoring the international order has so far been the theme of Trump’s second term, and so it is not unlikely that he will push forward with the plan regardless.

At present there have been no concrete steps taken to send flights to Libya from the US, but the statement from the committee warns that any official moves the US makes to implement these deportations will be met with “strong political measures that could negatively affect existing and future cooperation in various fields.”

The committee also highlighted that the US sending individuals who pose security or criminal threats to Libya is irresponsible, considering the nation’s ongoing crisis of governance and violence.

In the 2024 human rights report published by the US, Libya was described as a nation with “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions” and as willing to use “arbitrary arrest or detention.”

Critics of the Supreme Court ruling have said that this puts potential immigrants to be sent to Libya in significant danger.

Libya’s rejection of immigrants has likely also to do with how they are already overwhelmed and cracking down on migration.

The Mediterranean, on Libya’s northern border, is a crucial transit point for Africans to enter Europe, and in response to the rise in migration into Libya, authorities have cast out international aid organisations, including the UN refugee agency.

The crisis in the neighbouring nation of Sudan has also affected migration into Libya, with roughly 20,000 to 25,000 Sudanese entering Libya since the civil war began in 2023.

The committee’s report concluded by calling on all nations to respect Libya’s sovereignty, and to base any cooperation on mutual respect and balanced interests.

Libya Observer/Maghrebi