Migrants from Asia and Mexico were woken up at 2:30 a.m. and boarded on a bus to wait outside a military plane for hours. They were then sent back to solitary confinement.

A federal judge has placed a hold on the U.S. government’s plans to deport a number of immigrants to Libya, following allegations from immigrants, their families and their lawyers that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials told them they would soon be sent to that country.

The order comes after lawyers expressed alarm that the US was planning to deport migrants to the North African country "immediately".