Deportation looms for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is currently out of prison
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who grew up in El Salvador and fled from gang violence at the age of 16, finds himself in the midst of a legal battle with the Trump administration over his potential deportation to Uganda.
Abrego Garcia was released from a Tennessee jail on Friday, only to be taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at their Baltimore office on Monday. This move comes despite a court order that prohibits immediate detention and requires due process.
The Trump administration argues that Abrego Garcia can be deported because he came to the U.S. illegally and because an immigration judge deemed him eligible for expulsion in 2019, just not to his native El Salvador. However, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis prohibited ICE from immediately detaining Abrego Garcia upon his release in Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia was ordered to stay with his brother in Maryland and be subjected to electronic monitoring and home detention upon his release. But now, the government is planning to deport him to Uganda, a country with which the U.S. has agreed a deal to accept certain migrants being deported.
Abrego Garcia's attorneys have asked for his release, citing the judge's order and arguing that the government is trying to use the immigration system to punish him by deporting him to a country with documented human rights abuses and where he does not even speak the language.
Throughout this ordeal, Abrego Garcia has maintained his innocence, denying charges of being an MS-13 gang member and immigrant smuggler. He received a federal work permit and checks in with ICE each year, according to his lawyers.
In a surprising turn of events, Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported in March and was brought back to the U.S. in June. He was even offered to be sent to Costa Rica if he pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges, but he declined.
The court order requires Abrego Garcia to appear at an immigration facility in Baltimore on Monday. If deported, he could face an uncertain future in a country far from his home and the life he has built in the U.S. The legal battle continues as Abrego Garcia and his attorneys fight for his right to due process and a fair hearing.
