LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The Trump administration wants to send migrants to Libya, possibly as soon as this week.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Libya. U.S. officials have spent the last few months negotiating with various countries to see who is willing to take in people deported from the United States.
FADEL: NPR's immigration reporter Ximena Bustillo joins us now to talk about all this. Good morning, Ximena.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So what do we know about this plan to send migrants to Libya?
BUSTILLO: Yesterday, my colleague Tom Bowman confirmed administration officials are planning to use Libya as a destination for migrants removed from the U.S. Rwanda's foreign minister also said it was in talks with Washington about the same issue. And, of course, the U.S. has had similar deals already with Mexico and El Salvador. Now, the deportations to Libya would be carried out by the U.S. military, but it's not clear how many people or what nationalities would be sent under the deal. President Trump told reporters yesterday he didn't know about the plan and to ask the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security did not respond to NPR's requests to confirm the plans.
FADEL: OK, so we've already seen actions in court to try and stop these military flights before they've even happened. What can you tell us about the lawsuit?
BUSTILLO: A judge in Massachusetts already issued an injunction blocking the Homeland Security department from removing migrants to these third countries. That means deporting people to countries they're not originally from. The administration has found workarounds, though. They've used other agencies, such as the Defense Department, to remove people from the U.S. Immigration lawyers filed an emergency motion yesterday asking that same judge to again block removals to Libya or any third country. They argued their clients - who are Laotian, Vietnamese and Filipino - could be sent in a matter of hours. And last night, the judge issued another order. It clarifies DHS can't use a loophole and that any agencies, including the Pentagon, can't deport people to these third countries unless those people get prior time to contest their removals.
FADEL: OK, so there's a legal block in this court. I mean, Libya is not considered the safest country. Have other concerns been raised about this plan?
BUSTILLO: First off, Libya has been wrestling with violence and armed conflict since the civil war that toppled Muammar Gaddafi almost 15 years ago. The country is still in turmoil. There's a military strongman who controls the eastern half of the country, and a U.N.-backed government controls the west. And I'd note both governments issued statements rejecting the plan to send migrants there, and Libya has a notorious human rights record.
FADEL: Yeah. I mean, this isn't the first deal, though, that the White House has made with other countries. We've already reported a lot on the U.S. paying El Salvador $6 million to house migrants removed from the U.S. in a mega-prison there. What's the point of these agreements?
BUSTILLO: One of the main goals is to send migrants further away to avoid people crossing back over U.S. borders, and that's according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But there are plenty of practical implications. About 1.4 million people have pending deportation orders. That's according to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. But there are many challenges to sending them back to their home countries. One is that their home countries may not agree to accept them or actually have limits on how many people or flights they will take from the United States.
And this has created challenges for past administrations because it means that even if someone has a final removal order, they may not actually be removed. But Trump's goal is to increase the pace of deportations, and that does mean finding more places for people to go. If Libya isn't on the table, others likely will be.
FADEL: NPR's Ximena Bustillo. Thank you, Ximena.
BUSTILLO: Thank you.
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