Two More Countries Could Take Deported U.S. Migrants: Report
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Trump Administration Explores Deporting Migrants to Libya, Rwanda
Above: An U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft carrying undocumented Indian migrants deported by the U.S. lands at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar, Punjab, India, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025 Image copyright: Prakash Singh/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
That Libya and Rwanda are poised to take in criminal migrants from the US is another victory for the Trump administration and demonstrates its seriousness in its efforts to make the US safe again. Due to President Trump's strong leadership, thousands of illegal migrants have already been deported from the US, and an increasing number of countries are ready to bolster their ties with the US by taking in these criminal elements. The further away these individuals are sent, the less likely they'll attempt to re-enter illegally.
Anti-Trump narrative
Sending asylum seekers to countries with documented human rights abuses is morally reprehensible and legally dubious. Libya's record of migrant torture and abuse makes it wholly unsuitable as a "safe third country." These deportation schemes are dangerous political theater designed to appear tough on immigration while outsourcing America's responsibilities to nations with questionable human rights records. Migrants and U.S. citizens should be very afraid.