Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongfully deported to a notorious El Salvador prison and later returned to the U.S., was released Friday from criminal custody in Tennessee while he awaits trial on federal human smuggling charges (article available here).
According to Abrego Garcia's lawyersm, a private security firm will now transport him back to Maryland "after being unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government's vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the Administration's continuing assault on the rule of law."
Abrego Garcia's freedom could be short-lived. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could try to detain him upon his return to Maryland. But a federal judge last month said that, should he be released from detention, ICE is not allowed to immediately take him into custody. Instead he has to be transferred to the Baltimore ICE jurisdiction and his attorneys must be given 72 hours notice prior to his deportation.
Shortly after Abrego Garcia's release, immigration officials informed his attorneys that they intend to deport him to Uganda as early as next week, according to a court filing on Saturday.
The administration has expanded the use of deportations to third countries, and in this case, Abrego Garcia's attorneys argue the threat is both "vindictive" and "coercive," designed to push Abrego Garcia into a guilty plea, a deal that expires on Monday.
Abrego Garcia was born in El Salvador but had been living in Maryland, after entering the U.S. illegally in 2011 when he was 16. According to court documents, he was escaping gang death threats in his native country. He ended up living in Maryland, where his brother lives. There, Abrego Garcia met and married his wife, a U.S. citizen, and is raising three kids with her. He was deported in March back to his home country and immediately imprisoned there, despite a 2019 court order blocking his removal there. His attorneys say he had permission to work in the U.S.