US authorities are seeking to deport Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García to Uganda after he rejected a plea deal linked to human smuggling charges.
US authorities plan to deport Kilmar Ábrego García to Uganda after he refused a plea deal in a human smuggling case, his lawyers said.
Mr Ábrego García, a Salvadoran national married to a US citizen, declined to plead guilty in exchange for deportation to Costa Rica, where the government had agreed to accept him as a refugee. His attorneys said they were later told he could instead be sent to Uganda, a country with which he has no ties.
“There can be only one interpretation of these events,” his lawyers wrote. “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.”
Mr Ábrego García was previously deported in error by the Trump administration, then returned to face charges. He is now in Maryland and due in a Baltimore court Monday.