Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was wrongly deported earlier this year, walked free from custody in Tennessee on Friday and reunited with his family in Maryland. But his attorneys now allege that federal officials are pressuring him to plead guilty in a human smuggling case—or risk being deported to Uganda, a country where they say his safety and liberty would be imperiled.
On Saturday, Abrego Garcia’s legal team filed a motion claiming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had ordered him to report to its Baltimore Field Office on Monday, according to multiple reports. The filing contends this directive came after he rejected a government offer: accept deportation to Costa Rica in exchange for a guilty plea and continued detention. According to the motion, U.S. officials had already secured assurances from Costa Rica that it would receive him “upon the conclusion of any criminal sentence he may serve in the U.S.”
His attorneys allege the government retaliated when he refused. They wrote that officials “responded to Mr. Abrego’s release with outrage” and that, within minutes of his release, an ICE representative warned of plans to deport him to Uganda. By Friday evening, they say, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delivered an ultimatum: take the plea deal by Monday morning for deportation to Costa Rica, “or else that offer will be off the table forever.”
“There can be only one interpretation of these events: 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, where his safety and liberty would be under threat,” his attorneys asserted in the filing.
Abrego Garcia is set to stand trial for human smuggling on January 27, 2027. Earlier in the year Tennessee officials released police body camera video of a Garcia being stopped for allegedly “hauling” people for money.
Wow…
Here is the bodycam footage of the Dems’ new mascot, “Maryland Man” Kilmar Abrego Garcia, at a traffic stop in Tennessee in 2022, obtained by Fox News.
One trooper on the scene said “he’s hauling these people for money”.
This is the guy the Dems worship… pic.twitter.com/KiljFnB9wL
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) May 2, 2025
DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the allegations outlined in Saturday’s motion.
The controversy follows months of legal battles over his case. Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March before being brought back to face charges. Democrats flocked to the country to stand with the alleged gang member and human trafficker, urging his release back to the United States.
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