Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvador national at the center of a high-profile immigration and alleged human smuggling case, was released from a Tennessee jail on Friday after nearly five months in custody, but just few hours later, President Donald Trump-led US administration signalled plans to deport him to Uganda, The Associated Press reported early Saturday.
The move comes after Abrego Garcia reportedly rejected a last-minute offer from US immigration authorities: agree to plead guilty and accept deportation to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail. He declined.
According to a court filing Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) informed Abrego Garcia’s lawyers that he must report to immigration officials on Monday, ahead of a possible deportation to Uganda.
A Legal Rollercoaster
For the uninitiated, Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported in March to El Salvador — a country a US federal judge had previously ruled he couldn’t be sent to due to threats of prevalent gang violence.
Following huge public outcry and legal pressure, the Trump administration brought him back to the US in June to face two federal human smuggling charges. Since then, he’s been detained in Tennessee, despite being eligible for pretrial release, according to a CNN report published Friday.
Local media reports suggest Abrego Garcia’s legal team kept him in jail in what was supposed to be a temporary measure in order to prevent his immediate deportation, fearing a repeat of the March incident. Abrego Garcia got partial relief after a Maryland judge issued a ruling last month requiring officials to allow him time to defend himself before any removal.
Prosecutors Tried to Keep Him Behind Bars
Federal prosecutors had pushed hard to keep Abrego Garcia jailed, calling him a danger to the public. However, two judges disagreed.
“The government’s general statements about the crimes brought against Abrego, and the evidence it has in support of those crimes, do not prove Abrego’s dangerousness,” US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw wrote in a July decision, per CNN.
Still Not Safe
Abrego Garcia’s release marked the first time he had seen his family in a more than 150 days. In a video shared by immigrant advocacy group CASA, he reportedly said, “Today is such a special day… I am so grateful for everybody who has been supporting me since day one.”
His lawyers, however, asserted that the fight isn’t over.
“ICE detention or deportation to an unknown third country still threaten to tear his family apart,” CNN quoted attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg as saying. “A measure of justice has been done, but the government must stop pursuing actions that would once again separate this family,” Sandoval-Moshenberg reportedly said.
Fighting Back
Abrego Garcia is also seeking to dismiss the charges against him, arguing that he has been the target of a “vindictive and selective prosecution” for standing up to his wrongful deportation.
“This is that case,” his legal team wrote in court documents. Judge Crenshaw is expected to weigh in early next month.
