Lawyers said on Wednesday that the US told some people who came from other countries that they would send them back to Libya. Libya is not their home country, and people there are often treated very badly. A judge said the US cannot send them back if they want to go to court and explain why they should stay.

This court case is happening because the Trump government wants to send many people out of the country. They want to send people to countries where they are not citizens. For example, they sent people from Venezuela to a well-known prison in El Salvador. Many people argued about this example.

Sending people removed from the US to Libya is a big step in the government's plan to send them to other countries.

A U.S. official said on Wednesday that they wanted to fly migrants to Libya on a military plane, but they didn't know when the plane would leave.

Lawyers who help immigrants say that some people from countries like Vietnam and the Philippines were told by police that they would be sent to Libya. Some were told that they would be sent to Saudi Arabia.

In Texas, officers put six people who were being held there into a room on Tuesday. The officers told them they had to sign a paper saying they would be sent back to Libya. Lawyers for these people said this in court, and they heard it from the families of the people being held.

The lawyers wrote that when the people said no, they were put in different rooms alone and tied up so they would sign it.

For example, a lawyer for a man from the Philippines wrote to ICE in San Antonio. He said his client found out he would be sent to Libya. The lawyer wrote that his client is afraid to go to Libya. So, he needs to talk to someone before they send him there.

The judge said people from other countries should get a chance to explain why they should not be sent away.

Lawyers went to court on Wednesday to ask a judge in Massachusetts for help. The judge is working on a case against the government because they send people to countries that are not their home.

In March, he said that people cannot be sent away from their country, even if they have no more legal ways to stay, until they have a chance to say it is not safe for them.

On Wednesday, he said that sending people to Libya soon would break the court's rule. He also asked the government to share information about the plans.

The government sent Venezuelans to El Salvador. They also sent people to Panama and Costa Rica, even though those people were not from those countries.

When someone is sent to a different country, it makes people ask many questions about fair treatment. For people sent to El Salvador, people worry if they will be hurt again.

The Trump government said they are looking for other countries to send people back to, besides those three countries in Central America. When asked about Libya, they didn't say much.

President Donald Trump asked the Department of Homeland Security about something. A leader there said she could not say if it was true that they were sending people to Libya.

The government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, said on Wednesday that they did not agree with the U.S. to take migrants. But they said maybe other groups had agreed to take them.

It seems to be about the government in eastern Libya. A strong military leader called Khalifa Hifter controls this government. For many years, Libya has been divided into two parts, with different governments in the east and west. Armed groups and other countries support both governments.

The Libya National Army, led by Hifter, controls the east and south of Libya. They said they did not agree to take migrants from the U.S.

The Libyan army said they will not let the migrants stay in the areas they control, for any reason.

Many reports show that migrants in prison in Libya have been treated badly. UN investigators said they found proof of possible very bad crimes. These include killing people, hurting them, making them slaves, killing people without a trial, and sexual violence.

Migrants told the news that people often hurt them. They were beaten many times. People asked their families for money to free them. They had marks on their bodies from old and new injuries. They also had marks from guns and knives on their backs, legs, arms, and faces.