WASHINGTON (AP) — On Monday, Kilmar Abrego Garcia turned himself in to U.S. immigration authorities in Baltimore. He now faces the possibility of being deported to Uganda, a country in Africa known for its human rights violations and where he doesn’t speak the language.
The construction worker from Maryland has become a symbol of President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies after he was mistakenly deported in March to a notorious prison in El Salvador, the country he was born in. He returned to the U.S. in June, only to confront charges of human smuggling that his lawyers claim are absurd and retaliatory.
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Jennifer Vasquez Sura, front left, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Kilmar Abrego Garciab. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) -
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, hugs her husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) -
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Kilmar Abrego Garciab. (AP Photo/KT Kanazawich) -
People attend a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Kilmar Abrego Garciab. (AP Photo/KT Kanazawich)
The Trump administration is seeking to deport Abrego Garcia before his trial takes place in Tennessee, alleging that the 30-year-old husband and father poses a threat to the community and is a member of the MS-13 gang. He refutes the gang accusation, has pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, and has requested that a judge dismiss the case due to what he argues is a retaliatory prosecution.
