The Trump administration plans to deport migrants to Libya using a military plane, an administration official told CNN.
SAN ANTONIO — The Trump administration has a plan to transport undocumented immigrants to Libya on a U.S. military plane, CNN reported Wednesday. The flight could be leaving from San Antonio, the report said.
CNN cited an official with the Trump administration, saying the White House declined to comment.
Flight trackers show that a US Air Force C-17 has filed a plan to fly on Wednesday from Kelly Field in San Antonio to Misrata Airport in Libya, the report said.
Those large C-17 cargo plans have been used recently in the transport of migrants by the Trump administation.
Last week, CNN reported the Trump administation was in talks with both Libya and Rwanda about the possibility of sending migrants with criminal records to those countries, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks. Reuters also reported Tuesday that the administration could depart migrants to Libya as early as Wednesday.
Libya has been engaged in political disputes and occasional clashes between rival factions since major fighting ended with a truce in 2020. The country is run by two parallel governments divided into the eastern and western areas. Both governments publicly denied it was accepted migrants deported from the U.S.
The State Department’s website has a Level 4 travel advisory for Libya. “Do not travel to Libya due to crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict,” the site reads.
When asked about the potential flight, President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office Wednesday: “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Homeland Security.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week the adminstration was looking at other countries to deport people to.
The Trump administation has come under fire for deporting migrants to El Salvador. The policy was particularly scrutinized after the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran man who was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and imprisoned without being allowed to communicate with family or legal aid.
Trump says Abrego Garcia is part of a violent transnational gang. The Supreme Court has ordered that the administration must work to return him to the U.S.