The tumultuous saga of Kilmar Ábrego García, the Salvadoran national whose wrongful deportation became a symbol of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies, has taken a dramatic new turn. After a brief period of freedom, Ábrego García was detained by U.S. immigration authorities today, just minutes after he arrived for a scheduled check-in at an ICE office in Baltimore. His lawyers say the detention is a “vindictive” act aimed at a second, immediate deportation to Uganda, a country he has never set foot in.
The detention comes after Ábrego García was released from a Tennessee jail on Friday, where he had been held on human smuggling charges. The release, which was ordered by a judge, was meant to allow him to await his trial, but his lawyers warned that the administration would attempt to immediately deport him again. That fear became a reality this morning when, after an emotional reunion with his family, he was taken into custody by ICE.
“God is with us, and God will never leave us,” Ábrego García said to a crowd of supporters outside the ICE office, just before surrendering. “God will bring justice to all the injustice we are suffering.”
The latest development in this high-stakes legal battle comes after Ábrego García rejected a plea deal that would have seen him deported to Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty to the smuggling charges. His lawyers said that after he declined the offer, they were notified that immigration officials intended to deport him to Uganda instead, under a recent migration deal with the country.
The Trump administration, for its part, has been unyielding in its stance. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has repeatedly labeled Ábrego García an MS-13 gang member and a “child predator,” claims his legal team has vehemently denied. “Today, ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation,” Noem wrote in a social media post, adding, “President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien … to terrorize American citizens any longer.”
Ábrego García’s case first made headlines in March when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, a country he fled years ago to escape gang violence. His deportation violated a 2019 court order that had granted him protected status in the U.S. and was later deemed an “administrative error” by the government. He was returned to the U.S. in June, only to be immediately charged with human smuggling.
His lawyers have now filed a new federal lawsuit in Maryland, challenging his detention and seeking to block any attempt at a second deportation. The case has raised serious questions about due process and the administration’s use of deportation as a tool to punish and intimidate. As one of his attorneys, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, put it, Ábrego García is being “made an example of” for daring to challenge the government’s authority. For now, the fight for his freedom has shifted from the streets of Baltimore to the halls of justice, with his future hanging precariously in the balance.
The tumultuous saga of Kilmar Ábrego García, the Salvadoran national whose wrongful deportation became a symbol of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies, has taken a dramatic new turn. After a brief period of freedom, Ábrego García was detained by U.S. immigration authorities today, just minutes after he arrived for a scheduled check-in at an ICE office in Baltimore. His lawyers say the detention is a “vindictive” act aimed at a second, immediate deportation to Uganda, a country he has never set foot in.
The detention comes after Ábrego García was released from a Tennessee jail on Friday, where he had been held on human smuggling charges. The release, which was ordered by a judge, was meant to allow him to await his trial, but his lawyers warned that the administration would attempt to immediately deport him again. That fear became a reality this morning when, after an emotional reunion with his family, he was taken into custody by ICE.
“God is with us, and God will never leave us,” Ábrego García said to a crowd of supporters outside the ICE office, just before surrendering. “God will bring justice to all the injustice we are suffering.”
The latest development in this high-stakes legal battle comes after Ábrego García rejected a plea deal that would have seen him deported to Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty to the smuggling charges. His lawyers said that after he declined the offer, they were notified that immigration officials intended to deport him to Uganda instead, under a recent migration deal with the country.
The Trump administration, for its part, has been unyielding in its stance. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has repeatedly labeled Ábrego García an MS-13 gang member and a “child predator,” claims his legal team has vehemently denied. “Today, ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation,” Noem wrote in a social media post, adding, “President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien … to terrorize American citizens any longer.”
Ábrego García’s case first made headlines in March when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, a country he fled years ago to escape gang violence. His deportation violated a 2019 court order that had granted him protected status in the U.S. and was later deemed an “administrative error” by the government. He was returned to the U.S. in June, only to be immediately charged with human smuggling.
His lawyers have now filed a new federal lawsuit in Maryland, challenging his detention and seeking to block any attempt at a second deportation. The case has raised serious questions about due process and the administration’s use of deportation as a tool to punish and intimidate. As one of his attorneys, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, put it, Ábrego García is being “made an example of” for daring to challenge the government’s authority. For now, the fight for his freedom has shifted from the streets of Baltimore to the halls of justice, with his future hanging precariously in the balance.