Libyan authorities reject report they
will take in US deportees
The Trump administration has sought agreements allowing it to send immigrants to third countries for detention.
IAuthorities in Libya, a country still divided after years of civil war, have denied reports that they will receive undocumented migrants deported by the United States.
The Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that deportation flights from the US to the North African country could begin this week, despite previous government reports raising alarm over unsafe conditions there.
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The National Unity government, which controls western Libya, said in a statement that it rejected the use of its territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent.
“The Government of National Unity categorically denies any agreement or coordination with US authorities regarding the deportation of migrants to Libya,” it said in a statement.
Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which controls eastern Libya, also rejected the report, saying that migrants “will not be received through airports and ports secured by the Armed Forces, and that this is completely false and we cannot accept it at all.”
The report by Reuters, which cites three anonymous US officials, says that the US military could fly migrants to Libya for detention as soon as Wednesday, but notes that those plans are subject to change. The number and nationality of the migrants who could be deported are unknown.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has sought out third countries where it can deport and detain undocumented immigrants, part of a larger push to enact the administration’s hard-right vision of immigration enforcement.
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