Judge Prevents Trump Administration from Rapidly Deporting Illegal Immigrants to Libya

May 7, 2025 TruthUSA

Detainees must be notified ahead of their deportation, permitted to express fears of torture, and allowed time to contest their removal, as ruled by the judge.

A federal judge has issued a ruling blocking the Trump administration from deporting undocumented immigrants to Libya or any other third country without first providing them notice and a chance to seek protection under U.S. law. This decision follows reports of a pending military flight set to carry detainees to the North African nation.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, in a series of rulings announced on May 7, declared from the bench and through court filings, that any attempt to remove noncitizens without the required procedural protections would constitute a blatant violation of a prior injunction that he issued on April 18.

“If there is any doubt—the Court sees none—the supposedly imminent removals, as reported by news outlets and as the Plaintiffs seek to confirm with accounts from class members and public information, would clearly infringe upon this Court’s Order,” Murphy remarked in his ruling on May 7.

Murphy’s April 18 order bars the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from conducting “third-country removals” unless detainees are first provided with written notice in a comprehensible language, an opportunity to request a reasonable fear screening, and at least 15 days to file a motion to reopen their immigration case if the screening is denied. This order effectively prevented DHS from deporting undocumented immigrants with final removal orders to a country other than their home country without first allowing them the chance to assert claims of potential persecution, torture, or death.

The judge’s emergency ruling on May 7 came shortly after the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit submitted a request for a temporary restraining order, citing news reports and declarations from attorneys indicating that DHS and possibly the Department of Defense (DOD) were making preparations to deport several individuals from Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines to Libya without the necessary protections in place.

“This motion should not even be necessary as it clearly violates this Court’s preliminary injunctions,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers contended, while labeling Libya as a nation “notorious for its human rights abuses.”

In two electronic orders issued later on May 7, Murphy reiterated the breadth of his earlier injunction and suggested that deportations executed in tandem with the DOD might also be under the court’s review. He arranged for expedited discovery regarding the involvement of both the DHS and DOD in recent removals and requested insights on whether the Pentagon should formally be added as a defendant in the case.

In their emergency motion, attorneys for the plaintiffs referenced a reported flight plan featuring a U.S. Air Force C-17 slated to depart from Kelly Field in Texas to Misrata Airport in Libya, along with claims that ICE officers allegedly instructed detainees to sign documents consenting to removal to Libya or face conditions akin to solitary confinement.

Documentary evidence in the case revealed that several plaintiffs had previously received protection against removal to their home countries under the Convention Against Torture but were later informed that they could now be sent to third countries not specified in their original orders.

A spokesperson from the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This case unfolds amid the Trump administration’s broader initiative to enhance its deportation strategies and to explore new destination countries for foreign nationals facing removal orders from the U.S.

President Donald Trump recently questioned whether individuals entering the United States illegally should have the same due process rights as citizens.

In an interview aired on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump asserted that such a requirement would imply “we’d have to have a million or two million or three million trials,” positing that expedited deportations for confirmed illegal immigrants may be the most fitting solution.

The president added that his administration’s legal team “will obviously follow” U.S. Supreme Court rulings related to this issue.

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