The Trump administration is moving forward with efforts to deport illegal immigrants in the United States to the Eastern Hemisphere, including Libya in North Africa and possibly Ukraine in Eastern Europe.
The deals and flights would mark a further expansion in the number of countries that have agreed to accept their citizens amid the White House’s efforts to broker agreements with countries that have historically refused to do so.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Uzbekistan agreed not only to take back its citizens from the U.S but to pay the costs of their flights, lifting the burden on U.S. taxpayers.
The U.S. military was expected to fly the first plane of illegal immigrants from the U.S. to Libya on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
However, Libya’s Government of National Unity was reported on Wednesday to have stated that it would not allow the arrivals of deported citizens without its consent or knowledge and that there had been no plan to receive deported immigrants from the U.S.
Russia has been at war with Ukraine since February 2022, but a new report by the Washington Post revealed that the Trump administration was reported to have pushed the country in January to accept back an unspecified number of Ukrainian citizens.
It is not clear how Ukrainian government officials in Kyiv responded to the request. The Trump administration signed an economic minerals deal with Ukraine and has pushed for an end to the war, which could be used as grounds for negotiation over deportations.
Ukrainian immigrants residing in the U.S. are also eligible to apply for protection from deportation and work documents through Oct. 19 as part of a government process known as temporary protected status. It is not clear whether the Trump administration would rescind TPS for Ukraine to be able to deport more Ukrainians.
Trump officials are said to be in talks with roughly 30 countries around the world about taking back their citizens from the U.S., according to a recent report.
Historically, countries including Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have refused to accept their citizens.
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That refusal led to problems under the Biden administration as immigrants from those four countries topped the charts of nationalities seen at the southern border, forcing the U.S. government to release them into the country, unable to deport them.
To date, the Trump administration has said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested and then deported 65,000 illegal immigrants within the U.S. since Jan. 20.
