Less than a day after being released from a Tennessee jail, Kilmar Ábrego García has been notified by US authorities about the possibility of being deported to Uganda. His lawyers stated that the Salvadoran national declined a plea deal that would have allowed him to plead guilty to human smuggling charges in return for deportation to Costa Rica, an option that emerged only after it became evident that he would be freed.
Ábrego García, who has faced accusations of having links to the MS-13 gang—a claim he vehemently denies—was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year under the Trump administration. Following an acknowledgment of this administrative error, he was replanted in the US facing criminal charges. The Costa Rican government was willing to accept him as a refugee, ostensibly providing a safer resolution, yet Ábrego García’s choice to forgo the plea has led to new deportation threats.
Now with his family in Maryland, he is preparing for a court appearance in Baltimore, where the judge may approve the government's request for deportation. If this occurs, he may be sent to Uganda—a country with which he has no known connections—potentially within days. His legal team argues that such a measure exemplifies the use of government powers aiming to force a guilty plea under the threat of unsafe deportation.
Bagiire Vincent Waiswa, from the Ugandan foreign ministry, has indicated that Uganda will accept deportees under strict conditions, further complicating Ábrego García's situation. His case highlights ongoing issues faced by individuals entangled in the US immigration system, particularly those accused of crimes and those wrongly deported. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's broader immigration policies continue to impact lives significantly, with many looking on anxiously as legal proceedings unfold.
