White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller blasted the latest ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, which said deporting noncitizens to Libya without due process would be a violation of his earlier court order that blocked the federal government from carrying out third-country deportations.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy’s assessment followed an emergency motion filed by lawyers for a group of Asian immigrants seeking to block a military flight that appeared to be on the verge of taking off from Texas — even as the two competing governments that control portions of Libya reportedly indicated they would reject deportation flights from the United States.
Citing “alarming reports” in the media and accounts from some of their clients — nationals of Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines — the lawyers said the immigrants are at risk of being sent to Libya in defiance of an earlier injunction, issued by Murphy, prohibiting deportations to so-called third-party countries without notice and a chance to make a legal challenge. They asked Murphy to quickly prevent any deportation flights to Libya and to ensure the Trump administration is complying with his earlier order. They also asked Murphy to block flights to potential “stopover” nations like Saudi Arabia.
Less than two hours after the emergency motion, Murphy issued a brief “clarification” stating that, if the reports of the imminent deportations are accurate, they would “clearly violate” his April 18 injunction.
In that injunction, Murphy ruled that any immigrant expelled to a country “not explicitly provided for on the alien’s order of removal” be given written notice and a “meaningful” chance to contest their deportation to that country if they fear they may face torture or persecution there. (Politico)
UPDATE: Judge Murphy says the deportations to Libya, if reported and described accurately by migrants' lawyers, would "clearly violate this court's order." https://t.co/X82wLGoUHj pic.twitter.com/28G6DZsoof
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 7, 2025
"Another judge puts himself in charge of the Pentagon," Miller wrote on X, responding to the ruling. "This is a judicial coup."
Another judge puts himself in charge of the Pentagon. This is a judicial coup. https://t.co/3MeWN8GhzW
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 7, 2025
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