A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting illegal immigrants to Libya or any other third country without first giving them notice and an opportunity to claim protection under U.S. law, after reports surfaced of an imminent military flight carrying detainees to the North African nation.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, in a series of rulings issued on May 7 from the bench and in court filings, said that any effort to remove noncitizens without procedural safeguards would be a clear violation of an earlier injunction that he issued on April 18.
“If there is any doubt—the Court sees none—the allegedly imminent removals, as reported by news agencies and as Plaintiffs seek to corroborate with class-member accounts and public information, would clearly violate this Court’s Order,” Murphy wrote in his May 7 ruling….