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WTF Air?! Judge Blocks Trump Plan to Deport Southeast Asians to... LIBYA?!

In possibly the most insane deportation scheme yet, the Trump admin was reportedly prepping flights to send Laotian, Vietnamese & Filipino immigrants to war-torn Libya. A judge just slammed the brakes.

May 07, 2025

Alright, folks, buckle up, because the Trump administration's deportation machine apparently decided to take a sharp turn into the utterly deranged this week. We're not talking about sending people back to their home countries, or even the controversial deal to imprison alleged gang members in El Salvador. No, according to alarming reports and frantic court filings, the administration was allegedly preparing imminent flights to deport a group of Laotian, Vietnamese, and Filipino immigrants... to LIBYA.

Yes, Libya. The war-torn North African nation is currently divided between rival governments, plagued by militias, terrorism, and unexploded landmines. The country the US State Department explicitly warns Americans not to travel to due to "crime, terrorism... civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict." The place Amnesty International has labeled a "hellscape" for migrants, notorious for detention centers where torture, starvation, and forced labor are reportedly rampant. That Libya.

Lawyers for the immigrants scrambled into court Wednesday with an emergency filing, citing reports from Reuters and The New York Times about these imminent deportation flights, potentially using US military aircraft. They warned that sending these individuals (who have no connection to Libya) to such a dangerous third country would "blatantly" defy existing court orders.

Thankfully, a federal judge agreed this plan was certifiably insane. Massachusetts District Judge Brian E. Murphy swiftly granted a temporary restraining order, blocking the government from carrying out these removals. He stated bluntly that deporting people to a third country like Libya without giving them proper notice and a "meaningful opportunity" to argue they'd face danger there (as his previous orders required) would "clearly violate this Court's Order." He demanded the government provide details about these alleged plans.

The administration's response? A masterclass in evasion. When asked about flights to Libya, President Trump reportedly said, "I don't know. You'll have to ask Homeland Security." DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, meanwhile, told reporters she "can't confirm" the plans. Riiight.

Adding another layer of WTF, lawyers alleged in court filings that ICE agents tried to coerce detainees into signing documents agreeing to be removed to Libya (or even Saudi Arabia!), reportedly putting them in solitary confinement when they refused.

And the diplomatic absurdity? Both of Libya's rival governments reportedly denied being in talks with the US about accepting deportees and flatly stated they would refuse them anyway. So the plan was apparently to fly people halfway across the world to a dangerous country that didn't even want them?

This whole scheme represents a terrifying escalation. It suggests the administration, potentially frustrated by court challenges to its other deportation methods, was willing to ship people with no connection to a conflict zone known for horrific migrant abuse, simply to get them out of the US, seemingly in direct violation of court orders requiring due process before such third-country removals. It echoes Secretary of State Marco Rubio's chilling comment last month about wanting to send deportees "the further away from America, the better."

This isn't immigration enforcement; this sounds like a plan hatched in a fever dream, utterly detached from legality, morality, or basic common sense. Thankfully, a judge stepped in this time, but the fact that this was apparently even being seriously considered is a staggering Daily Dose of WTF.

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