US judge says bars Trump administration from deporting migrants to Libya(?!)

Every day is a new day when it comes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement measures.  Kit Johnson beat me to reporting this story but there is already a need for an update.

In “US judge says deporting migrants to Libya would violate court order,” Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Humeyra Pamuk report that a U.S. federal judge ruled today that any effort by the Trump administration to deport migrants to Libya — yes, Libya — would “clearly” violate a prior court order barring officials from swiftly deporting migrants to countries other than their own.

To be generous, Libya has a mixed human rights record.  As Human Rights Watch reported,

“Twenty-eight official prisons under the supervision of the justice ministry held 19,103 people, including 216 women, as of May 5, according to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Many others are held in prolonged detention without trial, in prisons run by militias and only under the nominal control of authorities. Inhumane conditions, including severe overcrowding, torture, and ill-treatment, are prevalent at these facilities.” (bold added).

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued the order.  Reuters was first to report yesterday that the Trump administration may deport migrants to Libya.

“The relatives of one Mexican national told Reuters he had been told to sign a document allowing for his deportation to the African nation. . . .   Lawyers for a group of migrants pursuing a class action lawsuit said the individuals potentially subject to deportation to Libya included Laotian, Vietnamese, and Philippine migrants. They added that sending them to Libya without first providing them a chance to raise their safety concerns `blatantly defies’ the judge’s injunction.”

Update (May 8):  Here is Judge Murphy’s order. Lauren Berg’s Law 360 story is here.

KJ