Kilmar Abrego Garcia Released Friday, Arrested Again By ICE
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Released Friday, Arrested Again By ICE Monday
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man at the center of a long-running immigration battle who was released from federal custody Friday while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, was taken into custody by ICE Monday morning, and may soon be facing another deportation, only this time to Uganda.
On Friday, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from criminal custody in Tennessee after being returned to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges. He had a mandated immigration check-in in Baltimore on Monday, and it was there that ICE agents took him into custody again.
Despite lacking the legality for the initial arrest, Abrego Garcia initial release marked a setback for the Trump administration, which once vowed that Abrego would “never go free” in the United States again. Attempting to make good on that promise, federal officials threatened to deport him to Uganda after he refused a plea deal tied to deportation to Costa Rica.
The notice, made public in a court filing in Abrego Garcia human smuggling criminal case in Tennessee, came minutes after he was released from criminal custody pending his trial on the federal charges.
“Let this email serve as notice that DHS may remove your client, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, to Uganda no earlier than 72 hours from now (absent weekends),” the notice read in part.
The email came one day after prosecutors reportedly offered Abrego Garcia a deal to plead guilty to human smuggling charges, remain in jail, and face eventual deportation, with the option of being sent to Costa Rica. His defense attorneys revealed the terms in a court filing on Saturday, noting that the offer included assurances from the Costa Rican government that he would be accepted as a legal immigrant and free from detention. The arrangement even included the benefit of relocating to a Spanish-speaking country culturally closer to his native El Salvador.
But the offer came with limiting and strict conditions, including the clause that would keep Abrego Garcia incarcerated while awaiting deportation after serving his sentence. Abrego Garcia declined the deal and walked out of jail under pretrial release, resulting in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issuing a stark notice notifying him that if he did not accept the Costa Rica deal by Monday morning, the government would proceed with plans to deport him to Uganda instead.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers warned that deportation to Uganda would endanger both his safety and his liberty. They pointed to his family ties in Maryland—an American wife and children—and his established life in the United States as further reasons the government’s actions are unjust.
In court filings, defense attorneys argued that the shifting deportation threats reflect a campaign of “vindictive and selective prosecution.” They contend that the government’s insistence that Abrego García either plead guilty and accept Costa Rica or face removal to Uganda is clear retaliation for his successful challenge to an earlier deportation order.
Administration officials have wavered this summer on whether they would deport him before his criminal trial is scheduled to begin in January. That equivocation prompted a federal judge in Maryland to set up guardrails last month to ensure Abrego Garcia isn’t hastily removed from the U.S. again.
A recent ruling in a separate case in Maryland required ICE to provide 72 hours’ notice before initiating deportation proceedings — time to allow a prospective deportee to mount a defense. An email from ICE sent to attorneys at 4:01 p.m. on Friday refers to that decision.
“Within minutes of his release from pretrial custody, an ICE representative informed Mr. Abrego’s counsel that the government intended to deport him to Uganda,” the brief stated, underscoring that these tactics demonstrate the government’s intent to punish Abrego García for standing up against his unlawful removal to El Salvador earlier this year.
Sean Hecker, one of Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, said in a statement that his client was grateful to be free “after being unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government’s vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law.”
“There can be only one interpretation of these events: the DOJ, DHS, and ICE are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat,” the attorneys wrote.
“It is difficult to imagine a path the government could have taken that would have better emphasized its vindictiveness,” they continued. “This case should be dismissed.”
Abrego Garcia told reporters that he was happy “to see his family again” before thanking supporters for continuing to stand beside him during his immigration fight.
“Today is such a special day, because after 160 days I am able to see my family again. I am so grateful for everybody who has been supporting me since day one. Because for the very first time today, I am seeing how so many people have been supporting my case, not just here, but internationally,” Abrego Garcia said.
Abrego Garcia’s legal saga began with a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. Pulled over for speeding, he was found with nine passengers in his car. Although officers raised suspicions of human smuggling, they released him with only a warning. It wasn’t until April of this year—after mounting pressure to return him to the United States following his mistaken deportation—that federal agents pursued smuggling charges.
Following his arrest, Garcia was illegally deported to El Salvador in March despite a judge’s determination that he faced a “well-founded fear” of violence there. Following a federal order, the Trump administration returned him to the U.S. in June, only to detain him on the newly pursued charges. Garcia has pleaded not guilty and filed motions to dismiss, claiming the charges are politically motivated.
Monday’s arrest came as no surprise to Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, who asked the federal judge overseeing his case to dismiss the smuggling charges entirely, citing prosecutorial vindictiveness.
“There can be only one interpretation of these events: the DOJ, DHS, and ICE are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat,” the attorneys wrote. “It is difficult to imagine a path the government could have taken that would have better emphasized its vindictiveness,” they continued. “This case should be dismissed.”
SEE ALSO:
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Says He Was Beaten, Tortured And Terrorized In El Salvadorian Prison
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Returned To Face Human Smuggling Charges
El Salvadoran President Won’t Return Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Trump Admits He Could Bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia Back
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Released Friday, Arrested Again By ICE Monday was originally published on newsone.com
