ICE plans to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he rejects plea deal

[struggle4progress]

Uganda threat came one day after offer to deport Abrego to Costa Rica if he agreed to plead guilty to human smuggling charge in Tennessee

By Anita Wadhwani
August 23, 2025

The Trump administration intends to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he rejected a last-minute deal to remain in jail, plead guilty to human smuggling charges and be deported to Costa Rica, a legal notice filed Saturday by his attorneys said.

The behind-the-scenes ultimatum bolsters defense claims that Abrego is the target of “selective and vindictive prosecution” by the government for contesting his wrongful deportation to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador in March, Abrego’s lawyers wrote.

The revelations come one day after Abrego was released from a Tennessee jail where he was awaiting a January trial on human smuggling charges. The sheet-metal apprentice was on his way back to Maryland, where he lives in Prince George’s County with his wife and children, when his attorneys received an emailed notice at 4:01 p.m. Friday from Immigration and Customs Enforcement saying it may send him to Uganda ...

https://marylandmatters.org/2025/08/23/ice-plans-to-deport-kilmar-abrego-garcia-to-uganda-after-he-rejects-plea-deal/

[bluestarone]

1. Could he go under house arrest right there in Maryland, with a judge ordered

24 hour guard, made up of Sworn in US Marshals? Plus allowing his family members present as well.

[Arazi]

2. That kinda blows "innocent until proven guilty"

I believe DOJ has manufactured a case against him and by all accounts, the judge mostly agrees. He shouldn’t be under any form of detention until his case is heard since it’s now completely obvious the govt isn’t going to treat him fairly. Ever.

He deserves a trial to clear the charges which he can’t get if he’s deported to Uganda.

What a clusterfuck

[bluestarone]

5. I'm thinking house arrest for HIS PROTECTION, and

His protection only from ICE. He has done nothing wrong.

[Fil1957]

3. Can't they just leave the guy alone? Hasn't he been through enough already?

[hildegaard28]

4. That's not

Deportation. That's kidnaping. Democratic politicians need to warn ICE agents that they will be held legally liable for their participation in these illegal kidnaping events once a new Democratic administration is sworn in.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Deadline: Legal Blog--Judge temporarily blocks Trump from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda

The Trump administration took him into immigration custody Monday morning after he was released from criminal custody on Friday.

Judge temporarily blocks Trump from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda www.msnbc.com/deadline-whi...

— Minka (@minkab.bsky.social) 2025-08-25T19:26:27.128Z

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/kilmar-abrego-garcia-uganda-judge-rcna226995

A federal judge on Monday temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garica to Uganda, pending a further hearing, NBC News reported.

The temporary reprieve from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis during a hearing on Monday afternoon came quickly after Abrego was detained on Monday morning when he reported to immigration authorities in Maryland, following his release from criminal custody in Tennessee on Friday. Before his release from criminal custody, the government offered him a plea deal that would have resulted in his deportation to Costa Rica, which, like his birth country of El Salvador, is a Spanish-speaking country in Central America. But after his release, the government said it intended to deport him to the African nation of Uganda. His lawyers then filed a new lawsuit in Maryland to challenge his latest detention and impending removal.

Abrego had been living in Maryland when the government illegally sent him to El Salvador in March, despite a 2019 court order that barred his removal to that country for his fear of persecution there. The U.S. government resisted court orders to return him until June, when it brought him to Tennessee to face charges of unlawfully transporting undocumented immigrants. He pleaded not guilty.

Xinis, an Obama appointee, is the judge who initially ordered his U.S. return.