Twenty Libyan political parties have jointly rejected reported efforts by the administration of former US President Donald Trump to deport migrants with criminal records from the United States to Libya. In a strongly worded statement, the parties described the proposed plan as a blatant violation of Libya’s sovereignty and called on Libyan authorities to officially declare their rejection.
The joint statement denounced discussions allegedly held between US officials and representatives from Libya and Rwanda on relocating certain asylum seekers and individuals with criminal backgrounds. The parties warned against turning Libya into an experimental ground for foreign migration policies or a dumping ground for problems that originate outside its borders.
The parties stressed that Libya, still reeling from years of conflict and political instability, must not be treated as a “safe third country”—a classification they said contradicts repeated US travel warnings advising its own citizens to avoid Libya due to ongoing security risks.
“Libya is a sovereign state,” the statement read, “and no external power has the right to impose security or humanitarian decisions on it.” Any attempt to bypass Libya’s will through secret agreements or unilateral actions, the parties asserted, would constitute a serious assault on national dignity and security.
While recognising the rights of nations to manage their immigration policies, the statement underlined that such efforts should not come at the expense of vulnerable regions or human dignity. The parties held the US administration fully responsible for any security or humanitarian deterioration that may result from implementing such a controversial policy in Libya’s fragile environment.
They also warned that any Libyan entity cooperating with such plans would be violating the country’s constitutional declaration, national legislation, and international norms, and should be held accountable.
The statement concluded with a call to the UN Security Council’s permanent members to support Libya’s stability instead of using it as a testing ground for foreign policies. It also urged the House of Representatives, the High Council of State, the Presidential Council, and both rival governments to issue an unequivocal and united stance rejecting any migrant deportation plans to Libya.
