Trump softens Libya rhetoric but sets out no migration plan

Donald Trump praised Libyans as “proud, resilient, hospitable” on 25 October 2026 amid a diplomatic row over his rally remarks, but did not apologise for them. His Truth Social message demanded an end to Libya’s role as a migration corridor without setting out any new enforcement measures.

“Libya cannot remain a corridor for illegal migration, and this must end now,” he wrote.

A day earlier, at a rally in Perry, Georgia, Trump had named Libya among “terror-infested countries” and used the phrase “Shithouse countries”.

Libya’s Presidential Council demanded an explicit apology and a correction, the state news agency LANA reported on 25 October. Reuters reported that the foreign ministry summoned the US chargé d’affaires that day and that Libya’s rival administrations in the east and west both condemned the remarks.

A real route, with fewer arrivals

UN refugee agency UNHCR recorded 10,583 sea arrivals in Italy after departures from Libya between 1 January and 14 June 2026—about 86% of Italy’s 12,366 sea arrivals in that period. The Libya figure was down from 24,241 in the same period of 2025.

Those provisional figures support Libya’s importance as a departure point, even as arrivals fell. They count people reaching Italy, not all departures or interceptions, and do not establish each traveller’s immigration or asylum status. Trump gave no figures or destination in his post.

Libya also hosts refugees and asylum-seekers. UNHCR separately listed 109,123 registered there on 1 October 2026; that register is not a tally of people heading for Italy. The agency has also appealed for support for refugees fleeing Sudan’s war and the Libyan communities hosting them.

US entry restrictions are a separate matter. A proclamation issued on 16 December 2025 continued restrictions for certain Libyan nationals, subject to conditions and exceptions, with an effective date of 1 January 2026. Trump’s new post announces no change to those rules or agreement to enforce his migration demand.

Military gains and political obstacles

The security partnership Trump invoked has a concrete history. The US military worked closely with western Libyan militias to drive Islamic State, also known as ISIS, from Sirte in 2016, according to a 2020 report by the US Congressional Research Service. That supports his reference to a shared military victory.

Territorial defeat did not mean the end of ISIS activity. A UN sanctions-monitoring report published in February 2026 said Libyan intelligence had dismantled at least four ISIS support cells during its June–December 2025 reporting period. The cells were involved in financing, smuggling and propaganda. The report also assessed that sustained counter-terrorism efforts had significantly constrained the threat from ISIS and Al-Qaida across North Africa.