US says it now plans to deport Kilmar Abrego García to Liberia as soon as October 31
BALTIMORE (AP) — The U.S. government plans to deport Kilmar Abrego García to Liberia, and could do so as soon as Oct. 31, according to a court filing Friday.
The Salvadoran citizen’s case has become a magnet for opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies since he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in violation of a settlement agreement. He was returned to the United States in June after the U.S. Supreme Court said the administration had to work to bring him back. Since he cannot be deported back to El Salvador, ICE has been trying to deport him to a number of African countries.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Maryland previously barred his immediate deportation. Abrego García’s lawsuit claims that the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish him for the shame of his previous wrongful deportation.
A court document filed Friday by the Department of Homeland Security notes that “Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’ closest partners on the African continent.” Its national language is English; its constitution “provides strong protections for human rights”; and Liberia is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees,” the document reads. It concludes that Abrego García could be deported as soon as October 31.
via News
“After failed attempts with Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client, Kilmar Abrego García, to Liberia, a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” reads a statement from attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. “Costa Rica is willing to accept him as a refugee, a viable and legal option. However, the government has chosen a path calculated to inflict maximum hardship. These actions are punitive, cruel and unconstitutional.”
Abrego García has an American wife and children and lived in Maryland for years, but immigrated to the United States illegally as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador, where he faces a “well-founded fear” of violence from a gang that targeted his family, according to court documents. In a separate action in immigration court, Abrego García requested asylum in the United States.
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Additionally, Abrego García faces criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human trafficking. He has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming the prosecution is vindictive.