(The Hill) — The federal government said it would deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he declined a plea deal, according to court filings.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday provided Abrego Garcia with an offer to “live freely” with refugee or residency status in Costa Rica after completing a prison sentence for federal human smuggling charges, contingent upon entering a guilty plea, as stated by his lawyers in the filings made on Saturday.
Abrego Garcia, who was erroneously deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, his homeland, rejected the proposal on Friday to choose instead to return to his family in Maryland. He had been held in a jail in Tennessee.
Upon his return to Maryland, later that day, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys were informed that he is required to report to an Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) field office in Baltimore on Monday — with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) planning to deport him to Uganda.
Uganda is one of the latest nations to reach an accord with the Trump administration to accept deportees. Yet, some critics have raised concerns over potential human rights violations in the East African nation.
“The only change between Thursday — Costa Rica — and Friday — Uganda — was Mr. Abrego’s invocation of his legal right to release under the Bail Reform Act and the Fifth Amendment…,” wrote Abrego Garcia’s defense team.
“There’s only one plausible explanation for these developments: the [Justice Department], DHS, and ICE are leveraging their combined powers to compel Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or being sent to Uganda, where his safety and freedom would be at risk.”
The Friday release from prison is the first time Abrego Garcia has been outside custody since March, when he was deported due to an “administrative error” and sent to a megaprison in El Salvador despite an immigration judge barring his return to his home country in 2019.
The Trump administration has previously mused about deporting Abrego Garcia to a third country.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday condemned the El Salvadorian native’s release, calling it a “new low.”
“Today, we reached a new low with this publicity hungry Maryland judge mandating this illegal alien who is a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator be allowed free,” she said in a statement.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys did not offer any additional comments on the matter, and DHS did not immediately respond to inquiries.
