New Destinations For Deportees: Libya And Rwanda?

Politico reports:

The Trump administration is seeking countries in addition to El Salvador that would be willing to accept people deported from the U.S., Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.

Rubio, speaking at a Cabinet meeting, told reporters that the administration intended to expand its use of foreign prisons as part of a mass deportation program that was initially billed as an effort to focus on removing people with criminal convictions.

“Not just El Salvador,” the secretary of state said. “We are working with other countries to say ‘We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings to your countries.’” Rubio did not specify why the U.S. would need to use foreign prisons or which countries the government would consider, though he said “the further away from America, the better.”

CNN reports:

The Trump administration has discussed with Libya and Rwanda the possibility of sending migrants who have criminal records and are in the United States to those two countries, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.

The proposals mark a dramatic escalation in the administration’s push to deter people journeying to the United States and remove some of those already here to countries thousands of miles away, some of which have checkered pasts. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January directing top officials to facilitate international cooperation and agreements to send asylum seekers elsewhere.

In addition to sending migrants with criminal records, Trump officials are also hoping to enter formal negotiations with Libya to strike a so-called safe third country agreement, which would allow the US to send asylum seekers apprehended at the US border to Libya, according to one of the sources. No decision has been made yet, and it’s unclear which nationalities would be eligible.

Rather obviously, they are purposely reaching out to countries that they perceive to be among the worst for human rights.