The Maryland father who the federal government mistakenly deported to El Salvador, brought back to the U.S., and then accused of human smuggling walked free on Friday—but now the government plans to deport him to Uganda.
In a filing submitted to a federal judge in Tennessee, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said that the government informed him he would be deported to Uganda on Monday after he declined an offer to be deported to Costa Rica.
His lawyers portrayed the government’s latest move as an attempt to retaliate against him for protesting his deportation to El Salvador, where Abrego Garcia claims he was physically and psychologically tortured at the notorious CECOT prison.
The government’s actions, they wrote, “leave little doubt that the entire federal government is engaged in a coordinated effort to punish Mr. Abrego for fighting back against its unlawful conduct.”
The latest development in Abrego Garcia’s months-long battle with the federal government over his future in the U.S. began Thursday night, hours before he was to be released from Putnam County Jail in Cookeville, Tennessee.
According to Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, prosecutors for the federal government said he could live freely in Costa Rica if he agreed to remain in jail until Monday and then plead guilty to the human trafficking charges he faces.
When his lawyers declined the offer and Abrego Garcia was released, the government upped the ante: If the 29-year-old did not agree to plead guilty by Monday, ICE would begin the process of deporting him to Uganda.
A federal judge in Maryland had previously ordered the federal government to allow Abrego Garcia to reside in Maryland while he awaits trial and provide 72 hours notice if it intended to deport him to a third country.
That 72-hour notice came almost immediately after Abrego Garcia walked out of jail.
“Please let this email serve as notice that DHS may remove your client, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, to Uganda no earlier than 72 hours from now,” read an email from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to Abrego Garcia’s lawyers.
Now the government is likely going to be forced to choose between two options: deporting Abrego Garcia, which would likely require dropping the human smuggling charges and be challenged by a lawsuit in Maryland, or not following through on its threat and continuing to seek his criminal conviction in the U.S.
The idea to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda appears to stem from a recent agreement struck with the country to accept migrants who have “concerns about returning to their countries of origin.”
The secretary of Uganda’s foreign ministry said that it “prefers that individuals from African countries shall be the ones transferred to Uganda,” but that the specifics of the agreement were still being determined.
Abrego Garcia is barred, via federal protective order, from being deported to his native country of El Salvador. He and his wife have one child together, in addition to two children from his wife’s previous relationship.
The criminal case against Abrego Garcia was charged in June, upon his return to the U.S. from El Salvador—compelled by the Supreme Court—and stems from a traffic stop that took place in December 2022.
According to DHS, Abrego Garcia was stopped for speeding by the Tennessee highway patrol. The responding officer found eight other people in his car without luggage, leading to a suspicion of human trafficking.
Per Abrego Garcia’s American citizen wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Abrego Garcia was working in construction at the time and sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites.
Various members of the federal government, including Secretary Kristi Noem and President Trump, have accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the notorious MS-13 gang. As evidence, they have pointed to Abrego Garcia’s tattoos, which include a marijuana leaf and a skull, and the fact that he was once detained for loitering while wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie.
On Friday, Noem called Abrego Garcia a “monster” as well as a “gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator.” The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment about Noem’s claims.
Abrego Garcia has not been accused in court of domestic or child abuse. Prior to his indictment for human trafficking, he had never been charged with or convicted of a crime.
The Daily Beast has contacted both DHS and ICE for comment.
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