Wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia told he may be sent to Uganda

Less than 24 hours after he was released from jail in Tennessee, Kilmar Ábrego García was told on Saturday that US immigration officials intend deporting him to Uganda.

A court filing showed that he declined an offer to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges.

Instead, Ábrego García, who was freed on Friday, chose to await trial in Maryland  where he lives with his American wife and children. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He became a symbol of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies when he was wrongly deported to his native El Salvador in March.

Ábrego García entered the US illegally as a teenager in 2011 after fleeing gang violence.

But in 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection against deportation to El Salvador saying he likely faced a threat of gang persecution there.

Following Ábrego García’s wrongful deportation, the Trump administration faced widespread pressure to return him to the US.

Facing a Supreme Court order, he was brought back in June, only to be detained on the human smuggling charges, which his lawyers have rejected as “preposterous”.

The case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during which Ábrego García’s was driving with nine passengers. Tennessee police suspected human smuggling, but allowed him to drive on and did not charge him.

Filings by Ábrego García’s attorney shows the administration has requested he appear at an immigration facility in Baltimore on Monday.

Trump officials have also repeatedly accused him of being affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim Ábrego García and his family vehemently deny.

Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, has said that the administration will not stop fighting until he’s out of the country.