Donald Trump says he doesn’t know whether he plans to deport hundreds of immigrants to Libya, amidst reports that his administration will do so as soon as Wednesday.

“Is the administration sending migrants to Libya?” Trump was asked during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

“I don’t know,” he responded. “You’ll have to ask the Department of Homeland Security.” Whether Trump is lying or not, his answer does nothing to quell the terrifying possibility that immigrants could be sent to a country whose prisons have been called a “hellscape” and “open slave markets” by human rights organizations.

On Tuesday, U.S. officials confirmed to multiple news outlets that the government was planning to send undocumented immigrants to Libya in what would be a cruel and unlawful escalation of the president’s deportation efforts. In March, Trump unlawfully deported 200 Venezuelan immigrants, the majority of whom had no criminal record, to El Salvador, where they are now being held in CECOT, a mega-prison notorious for human rights abuses.

More than a decade after Libya’s authoritarian state was toppled, the political situation in the country remains incredibly unstable. It’s been plagued by conflict for years, and the State Department advises Americans not to travel there amidst the risk “crime, terrorism, unexploded land mines, civil unrest, kidnapping and armed conflict.” It’s a stunning display of irony given the government may literally send people there against their will.

Libyan officials have denied the country is communicating with the United States, Reuters reported.

The president is reportedly eyeing Africa as a whole as his next target for deportations, which will likely face a flurry of legal challenges. Rwanda has already accepted at least one deportee from the United States, while several other African countries including Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Eswatini have been mentioned in various media reports.

President Donald Trump is planning to send a planeful of deportees to Libya—but both of Libya’s governments say they won’t take them, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, the prime minister for the Government of National Unity based in Tripoli, wrote on social media that “Libya refuses to be a destination for the deportation of migrants under any pretext.”

Dbeibeh said that Libya would not be held to any agreements made by “illegitimate entities.”

The Libyan National Army, which controls the eastern half of the country from Benghazi, also released a statement rejecting the arrival of deportees from the United States, saying that accepting deportees would “violate sovereignty in the homeland.”

While the U.S. government only has foreign relations with Dbeibeh’s government, the son of Khalifa Haftar, the general turned warlord in the east, visited with Trump administration officials last month. The meetings were not about deportations, according to the State Department and a Libyan official, CNN reported.

It’s not clear that any formal deal was made to facilitate the removal of immigrants to a potentially hostile host country. Libya’s migrant detention centers are notorious for subjecting detainees to severe beatings, sexual violence, extortion, and forced labor, according to a 2021 report from Amnesty International.

Lawyers for immigrants currently held in Texas have asked a judge for an emergency order barring any potential deportations to Libya. The lawyers argued that carrying out such a flight without warning would “blatantly” violate court orders.

Previous reports said that a military plane potentially carrying hundreds of immigrants could depart for Libya as soon as Wednesday, so it’s entirely possible that wheels are already up on the latest phase of Trump’s inhumane mass deportation crusade.

Trump is selling himself–and his meme coin—to the highest bidder. And most of those top bidders appear to be foreign, according to Bloomberg.

More than 200 of the largest holders of Trump’s lucrative meme coin will be invited to attend a May 22 dinner with Trump at his golf club in Virginia. The 25 highest holders will qualify for a private reception prior to the dinner, described as a “VIP” tour. The opportunity has caused a buying frenzy, leading to the meme coin shooting up by 20 percent in value, generating even more profit for the Trump family, which has raked in more than $320 million since January.

All but six of the top 25 holders used foreign exchanges that are closed to U.S. residents. And at least 56 percent of the 220 holders used other similar offshore exchanges. This raises valid concerns about just who will have access to the president during the May 22 dinner, as the guests have only been identified by short usernames of their choosing.

The top foreign exchanges used to buy the meme coin were Binance, Bybit, and OKX—all markets that restrict U.S. users.

“The sitting president appears to be selling personal cryptocurrency while in office, granting access to people who buy it, and thereby enriching his business and his family. It’s gobsmacking,” Senator Jon Ossoff said to Politico. “I’d like to hear one Republican senator defend it. Any self-respecting Congress would demand an accounting of everyone trading this coin who has any business before the government.”

Ford is jacking up the cost of its foreign-made cars, including what’s known as America’s most affordable pickup, amid Donald Trump’s disastrous auto tariffs.

Just days after the company said it didn’t expect auto prices to increase this year, a memo sent to Ford’s dealerships revealed it would hike prices on three of its Mexican-made models, Reuters first

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