The tumultuous legal saga of Kilmar Ábrego García has taken a new and dramatic turn, as U.S. immigration officials have signaled their intent to deport the Salvadoran national to Uganda, a country he has never visited. The move, revealed in a Saturday court filing by his lawyers, comes after Ábrego García was released from a Tennessee jail and reportedly rejected a plea deal that would have seen him deported to Costa Rica.
The latest development has ignited a firestorm of protest from immigrant advocates and civil rights groups, who are decrying the action as a “vindictive and selective prosecution” designed to punish Ábrego García for challenging his wrongful deportation earlier this year.
Ábrego García’s case first made national headlines in March when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, a country he fled more than a decade ago to escape gang violence. His deportation occurred despite a 2019 court order that had granted him protected status and barred his removal to his home country. He was held for months in a notorious Salvadoran prison before being returned to the U.S. in June under a court order, only to be immediately detained on human smuggling charges.
According to a new court filing by his defense attorneys, government officials offered Ábrego García a deal on Thursday: plead guilty to the human smuggling charges and be deported to Costa Rica, a Spanish-speaking country that had agreed to accept him as a legal immigrant. But after Ábrego García declined the offer to remain in jail and was released on Friday, his lawyers were notified by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that he would be deported to Uganda instead.
In the court filing, his lawyers argued that the government is “using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat.” They also stated that the threat of deportation to Uganda is more proof that the prosecution against their client is an act of retribution.
The Trump administration, which has a hardline immigration agenda, has consistently cast Ábrego García as a member of the MS-13 gang and a human smuggler, allegations his attorneys and family vehemently deny. “We will not stop fighting till this Salvadoran man faces justice and is OUT of our country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
The case has also raised serious questions about due process. While a judge had ordered Ábrego García to be released from jail to await trial, the threat of his immediate deportation to a “third country” has prompted his legal team to file an emergency motion. A Maryland judge has previously required ICE to give three business days’ notice before attempting to remove him, a ruling that provides a brief window for his lawyers to challenge any deportation attempt.
For now, Ábrego García has been released from jail and is under home detention in Maryland. But the looming threat of deportation to a country where he has no connections and no legal protections means his fight for justice is far from over.