Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland construction worker at the center of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown, surrendered to US authorities in Baltimore on Monday.
His case, already marked by a wrongful deportation to El Salvador earlier this year, has taken a new twist: officials now plan to deport him to Uganda.
A rally, a prayer, and a tearful goodbye
Just before entering an ICE office downtown, the 30-year-old Salvadoran national addressed a crowd of supporters. Speaking through a translator, he declared, “God is with us, and God will never leave us. God will bring justice to all the injustice we are suffering.”
Minutes later, his wife walked out of the building alone, visibly in tears, as lawyers rushed to file an emergency lawsuit in federal court to block his immediate removal.
Noem’s explosive Tweet
The Trump administration insists Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member and a public danger. Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem amplified that claim on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Today, ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation. President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer.”
Abrego Garcia denies any gang affiliation, has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges, and is seeking to have the case dismissed on grounds of vindictive prosecution.
From El Salvador’s prison to Uganda’s uncertainty
Abrego Garcia’s saga began in March, when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador despite a court ruling that he faced a credible threat of violence there. He was returned to the US in June, only to be indicted in Tennessee on smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop where nine passengers were found in his car.
Now, ICE has notified his attorneys that he could be removed to Uganda as soon as this week, under a recent deal with Kampala to accept certain deportees. The move came after Abrego Garcia rejected an earlier offer to resettle in Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty.
A family on edge
Just days before surrendering, Abrego Garcia was briefly reunited with his wife and children after being released from a Tennessee jail. Supporters decorated their Maryland home with flowers, streamers, and signs, capturing emotional video of the reunion.
But that homecoming could be short-lived. Justice department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said, “Either way, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the American people.”
As the legal battle intensifies, Abrego Garcia’s future now hangs between a family waiting in Maryland, a courtroom fight in Tennessee, and the possibility of deportation to a country he has never called home.
His case, already marked by a wrongful deportation to El Salvador earlier this year, has taken a new twist: officials now plan to deport him to Uganda.
A rally, a prayer, and a tearful goodbye
Just before entering an ICE office downtown, the 30-year-old Salvadoran national addressed a crowd of supporters. Speaking through a translator, he declared, “God is with us, and God will never leave us. God will bring justice to all the injustice we are suffering.”
Minutes later, his wife walked out of the building alone, visibly in tears, as lawyers rushed to file an emergency lawsuit in federal court to block his immediate removal.
Noem’s explosive Tweet
The Trump administration insists Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member and a public danger. Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem amplified that claim on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Today, ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation. President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer.”
Abrego Garcia denies any gang affiliation, has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges, and is seeking to have the case dismissed on grounds of vindictive prosecution.
From El Salvador’s prison to Uganda’s uncertainty
Abrego Garcia’s saga began in March, when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador despite a court ruling that he faced a credible threat of violence there. He was returned to the US in June, only to be indicted in Tennessee on smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop where nine passengers were found in his car.
Now, ICE has notified his attorneys that he could be removed to Uganda as soon as this week, under a recent deal with Kampala to accept certain deportees. The move came after Abrego Garcia rejected an earlier offer to resettle in Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty.
A family on edge
Just days before surrendering, Abrego Garcia was briefly reunited with his wife and children after being released from a Tennessee jail. Supporters decorated their Maryland home with flowers, streamers, and signs, capturing emotional video of the reunion.
But that homecoming could be short-lived. Justice department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said, “Either way, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the American people.”
As the legal battle intensifies, Abrego Garcia’s future now hangs between a family waiting in Maryland, a courtroom fight in Tennessee, and the possibility of deportation to a country he has never called home.
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