Some migrants were told they'd be sent to Libya, attorneys say as they try to block the deportations

The legal scramble comes as the Trump administration is pushing forward with plans to carry out mass deportations, including efforts to send migrants to a country where they are not a citizen. The most controversial example of so-called third-country removals has been sending Venezuelans to a notorious El Salvador prison.

Sending deportees to Libya, a country with a documented history of migrant abuse, would mark a major escalation of the administration’s push for third countries to take in people being removed from the United States.

A U.S. official said earlier Wednesday there were plans to fly migrants to Libya on a military plane but did not have details on the timing of the C-17 flight. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.