BALTIMORE — The US government plans deportation Kelmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, and could do so as early as October 31, according to a court filing on Friday.
The Salvadoran national’s case has become a lightning rod for opposition to President Donald Trump Immigration policies Since he was wrongly deported to El Salvador, in Violation of the settlement agreement. He was returned to the United States in June US Supreme Court He said that the administration must work to bring him back. Since he cannot be deported back to El Salvador, ICE is seeking to deport him to… African countries series.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Maryland has previously done so Prevent his immediate deportation. Abrigo Garcia’s lawsuit there alleges the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish him for embarrassing his former counterpart. Incorrect migration.
“Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’ closest partners on the African continent,” the Department of Homeland Security court filing released Friday notes. Its national language is English. Its constitution “provides strong protection for human rights”; The file stated that Liberia was “committed to the humane treatment of refugees.” It concludes that Abrego Garcia could be deported as soon as October 31.
“After failed attempts with Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana, ICE is now seeking to deport our client, Kelmar Abrego Garcia, to Liberia, a country with which he has no connection, and which is located thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” said a statement from attorney Simon Sandoval Moshenberg. “Costa Rica is prepared to accept him as a refugee, which is a viable and legal option. However, the government has chosen a path designed to inflict maximum hardship. These measures are punitive, cruel, and unconstitutional.”
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and a child He lived in Maryland For years, but he immigrated to the United States illegally when he was a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador, where he faces a “well-founded fear” of violence from a gang that targeted his family, according to court filings. In a separate case before the Immigration Court, Abrego Garcia did just that I applied for asylum In the United States.
Additionally, Abrego Garcia faces criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty Human smuggling. He applied for Charges dismissedclaiming that the prosecution was retaliatory.