US says it will send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he refused plea deal
| Nashville
Immigration officials said they intend to deport聽聽to Uganda, after he declined an offer to be sent to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges, according to a Saturday court filing.
The Costa Rica offer came late Thursday, after it was clear that the Salvadoran national would likely be聽聽the following day. Abrego Garcia declined to extend his stay in jail and was released on Friday to await trial in Maryland with his family. Later that day, the Department of Homeland Security notified his attorneys that he would be deported to Uganda and should report to immigration authorities on Monday.
His attorneys declined to comment on whether the plea offer had been formally rescinded. The brief they filed only said that Abrego Garcia had declined one part of the offer 鈥� to remain in jail 鈥� and that his attorneys would 鈥渃ommunicate the government鈥檚 proposal to Mr. Abrego.鈥�
Filed along with the brief was a letter from the Costa Rican government stating that Abrego Garcia would be welcomed to that country as a legal immigrant and wouldn鈥檛 face the possibility of detention. An additional benefit of the offer would be that Costa Rica is a Spanish-speaking country, like Abrego Garcia鈥檚 native El Salvador. Abrego Garcia would only be deported to Costa Rica after serving his sentence on the smuggling charges, according to the brief.
Abrego Garcia鈥檚 case became聽聽in President Donald Trump鈥檚 immigration agenda after he was mistakenly聽聽in March, despite a judge鈥檚 earlier determination that he faced a 鈥渨ell-founded fear鈥� of violence there. Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June, only to detain him on human smuggling charges.
He has聽聽and has asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming that it is an attempt to punish him for聽. The Saturday filing came as a supplement to that motion to dismiss, stating that the threat to deport him to Uganda is more proof that the prosecution is vindictive.
鈥淒espite having requested and received assurances from the government of Costa Rica that Mr. Abrego would be accepted there, within minutes of his release from pretrial custody, an ICE representative informed Mr. Abrego鈥檚 counsel that the government intended to deport Mr. Abrego to Uganda and ordered him to report to ICE鈥檚 Baltimore Field Office Monday morning,鈥� the brief says, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The smuggling charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding. There were nine passengers in the car, and聽聽among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. However, Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with only a warning.
A Department of Homeland Security agent later testified that he didn鈥檛 begin investigating the traffic stop until this April, when the government was聽聽to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
Although Abrego Garcia was deemed eligible for pretrial release last month, he聽聽at the request of his attorneys, who feared the Republican administration could try to immediately聽聽if he were freed. A聽聽in a separate case in Maryland required ICE to provide 72 hours鈥� notice before initiating deportation proceedings 鈥� time to allow a prospective deportee to mount a defense. An email from ICE sent to attorneys at 4:01 p.m. on Friday refers to that decision.
鈥淧lease 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 (absent weekends),鈥� it states. Uganda recently聽聽from the U.S., provided they do not have criminal records and are not unaccompanied minors.
Federal officials have argued that Abrego Garcia can be deported because he came to the U.S. illegally and because a U.S. immigration judge deemed him eligible for expulsion in 2019, just not to his native El Salvador.
