The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to transport a group of undocumented immigrants to Libya on a US military plane, an administration official told CNN.
It is unclear when the plane would leave and whether other groups of migrants would also be sent to Libya — a country engaged in an ongoing civil conflict — in the future, the official said.
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 US has repeatedly used the large C-17s to transport migrants in recent months.
The White House declined to comment. CNN first reported the administration was communicating with Libya to have the country take migrants from the United States. Reuters first reported on the potential military flight this week.
The decision to send migrants to Libya, which the UN has previously criticized for its harsh treatment of migrants, is a further escalation of the president’s deportation policies — which have faced widespread political and legal backlash.
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.
CNN reached out last week to a representative for Libyan Gen. Saddam Haftar, who was in Washington for talks with officials, for comment on the deportation plans. The State Department and a Libyan official said his meetings were not about deportations.
A Libyan official told CNN: “Deporting migrants to Libya was never discussed. This did not happen. Everything we talked about was as published on the official agenda.”
Conversations about sending migrants to other countries in Africa, such as Rwanda, continue. But there are no confirmed plans for flights to those other countries right now, sources familiar with those discussions said.
Natasha Bertrand, Priscilla Alvarez and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.
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