New Report Details Tense Hours Experienced by Migrants Nearly Deported to Libya: 'Very Scary'

A new report has revealed the extent of the ordeal experienced by 13 immigrants detained in Texas who were nearly deported to Libya in the early hours of Wednesday before a federal judge intervened to halt the transfer.

The group, which included nationals from the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, and Mexico, was awoken at 2:30 a.m. by armed guards, shackled, and transported to a military base, where they waited outside a plane that never departed, as NBC News details.

The attempted deportation took place despite a standing court order prohibiting the removal of migrants to third countries without due process. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy reaffirmed that such actions would violate his ruling, which requires the government to give detainees a chance to challenge deportations to countries where they may face harm. Following an emergency legal motion filed by attorneys, the deportation was stopped, and the migrants were returned to the detention facility.

Immigration attorneys told the outlet that their clients remain fearful of future transfers to countries they know little about and where they may face serious risks. Tin Nguyen, who represents one Vietnamese detainee, said his client was previously ordered to sign a deportation agreement he could not read because it was not translated. He refused and was placed in isolation. Other detainees reportedly faced similar pressure to sign documents authorizing removal to Libya.

"Libya or El Salvador or Rwanda ... it's very scary for people," Nguyen, who's based in North Carolina, said. "People don't know anything about these countries, and what they have heard about them is very terrifying."

Libya has been widely criticized for its treatment of migrants. A 2023 United Nations report cited evidence of arbitrary detention, torture, rape, and other abuses. The U.S. State Department maintains a Level 4 travel advisory for the country, the highest level, citing terrorism, armed conflict, and civil unrest.

According to the emergency filing, some individuals who initially resisted signing were eventually forced to comply while in separate, locked rooms. The entire group spent hours on the bus at the airfield before being returned to the facility, where they were released to the general population the following morning.

Both Libya's provisional Government of National Unity and the Libyan National Army have denied any agreement to receive deportees from the U.S., calling such a plan a violation of sovereignty.