Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, an alleged MS-13 member, and the Democrats’ favorite undocumented immigrant, has been informed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that he will be deported to Eswatini, a small southern African kingdom, in the latest twist of his contentious immigration case. The decision, relayed to his attorneys by email on September 5, 2025, comes after an earlier plan to remove him to Uganda was halted.
The decision for Eswatini because Garcia has listed nearly two dozen countries where he allegedly fears for his life, i
According to an ICE email discussed by Fox News, officials changed course after Abrego Garcia’s lawyers cited fears of persecution or torture in Uganda and 21 other countries, including El Salvador, Uganda, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti.
“As you know, the United States seeks to remove you from the United States based on your final order of removal. Currently, you are designated to be removed to Uganda. Your attorney has informed us, however, that you fear persecution or torture in Uganda. That claim of fear is hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries,” the email stated. It concluded, “Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.”
BREAKING: @FoxNews has obtained an email ICE sent to Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s lawyers this afternoon notifying them that ICE now plans to deport him to the tiny African country of ESWATINI due to him claiming fear of persecution/torture in Uganda & 20+ other countries, which ICE… pic.twitter.com/qpPiE6ZeyB
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 5, 2025
Garcia’s legal saga escalated in March 2025 when he was wrongfully deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison despite a 2019 court order blocking such a transfer. International pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court intervention forced his return in June, only for him to face federal charges tied to a 2022 human smuggling case in Tennessee.
On August 22, he was released from a Tennessee jail, but ICE detained him three days later at a routine check-in in Baltimore. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis quickly intervened, ruling on August 25 that the government was “absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States” until a hearing could be held. That hearing is set for October 6.
This is incredible. Abrego Garcia claimed fear of persecution/torture in 22 different countries (which is patently absurd)
So ICE is sending him to Eswatini, a tiny African nation ruled by this guy: https://t.co/9HleetoYqV pic.twitter.com/kJXsWXR5gB
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) September 5, 2025
The Trump administration’s handling of the case has stirred some controversy. His attorneys allege prosecutors offered him a stark choice: plead guilty to smuggling charges and accept deportation to Costa Rica after serving time, or face deportation to Uganda. The sudden switch to Eswatini adds another layer of uncertainty. The landlocked kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, has faced repeated criticism from human rights groups for political repression.
As the October hearing approaches, Abrego Garcia remains in federal custody in Virginia. The outcome will test how U.S. courts balance claims of persecution against allegations of criminal activity in one of the year’s most closely watched immigration battles.
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