(Baltimore) The US administration plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, and could do so as early as October 31, according to a document filed in court on Friday.
The Salvadoran national’s case has become a focal point 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 should work to bring him back. Because he cannot be deported to El Salvador, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking to deport him to several African countries.
In addition, a federal judge in Maryland has already banned his immediate expulsion. Mr. Abrego Garcia’s lawsuit there claims that the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish him for the embarrassment caused by his erroneous deportation.
A document filed Friday by the Department of Homeland Security states 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 protection of human rights”; and “Liberia is committed to treating refugees humanely,” the document reads. He concludes that Kilmar Abrego Garcia could be expelled as early as October 31.
“After failed attempts with Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, ICE is now seeking to deport our client, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to Liberia, a country to which he has no ties, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” read a statement from attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.
“Costa Rica is ready to accept him as a refugee, a viable and legal option. Yet the government chose a path designed to inflict maximum suffering. These measures are punitive, cruel and unconstitutional,” adds the lawyer.
Mr. Abrego Garcia is married to an American woman and has one child. He lived in Maryland for years. He immigrated to the United States illegally as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador, where he well-founded to fear violence at the hands of a gang that targeted his family, according to court documents. In a separate action in immigration court, Mr. Abrego Garcia filed for asylum in the United States.
Additionally, Kilmar Abrego Garcia faces criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human trafficking. He filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing that the accusation is vindictive.
