U.S. Threatens To Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia To Uganda After He Rejects Plea Deal
Immigration officials have announced plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he rejected a plea deal that would have allowed him to be sent to Costa Rica instead. According to AP News, the plea arrangement, offered Thursday, required Abrego Garcia to remain in jail, plead guilty to human smuggling charges, and serve whatever sentence the court imposed.
After his release from jail on Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told his attorneys that he would now face deportation to Uganda unless he accepted the Costa Rica option by Monday morning.
His attorneys argued in court filings that this sudden shift shows the government is using deportation as leverage to force a guilty plea.
Costa Rica Welcomed Him — Uganda Now Looms
AP News reports that the government of Costa Rica even issued a formal letter saying Abrego Garcia would be accepted there as a legal immigrant without the risk of detention. Despite that, ICE quickly informed his legal team that Uganda was the new destination.
His attorneys wrote,
“Despite having requested and received assurances from the government of Costa Rica that Mr. Abrego would be accepted there, within minutes of his release from pretrial custody, an ICE representative informed Mr. Abrego’s counsel that the government intended to deport Mr. Abrego to Uganda.”
Uganda recently agreed to accept deportees from the U.S., provided they are not convicted criminals or unaccompanied minors. But Abrego Garcia’s lawyers point out that he does not speak the language and would face a country with documented human rights abuses.
Lead attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said in a statement that the government is attempting to “send him halfway across the world, to a country with documented human rights abuses and where he does not even speak the language.”
DOJ Pushes Back Hard
The Justice Department is standing firm. Chad Gilmartin, a spokesperson, told AP:
“A federal grand jury has charged Abrego Garcia with serious federal crimes … underscoring the clear danger this defendant presents to the community. This defendant can plead guilty and accept responsibility or stand trial before a jury. Either way, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the American people.”
Federal prosecutors say Abrego Garcia can be deported because he entered the U.S. illegally and because a U.S. immigration judge deemed him eligible for removal in 2019 — though not to his native El Salvador.
A Case Already Marked by Controversy
Abrego Garcia’s saga became a flash point in President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda earlier this year. AP News reports that in March, he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador despite a judge’s ruling that he faced a “well-founded fear” of violence there.
Under court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June, only to detain him on smuggling charges.
The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, where police pulled him over for speeding and found nine passengers in the vehicle. Officers suspected human smuggling but let him go with only a warning.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty and filed a motion to dismiss the charges, calling the prosecution retaliation for his fight against deportation. The Saturday filing in Tennessee added that the threat of deportation to Uganda was more proof of “vindictive prosecution.”
Family, Legal Battles, and Next Moves
AP News notes that Abrego Garcia has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years. Although a judge ruled him eligible for pretrial release last month, his attorneys kept him in jail out of fear that ICE would attempt an immediate deportation.
A separate ruling in Maryland now requires ICE to provide at least 72 hours’ notice before initiating deportation proceedings. On Friday at 4:01 p.m., ICE emailed his lawyers:
“Please 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).”
Whether Abrego Garcia accepts the Costa Rica plea deal or faces deportation to Uganda remains uncertain. His attorneys have declined to say if he is still weighing the offer.
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