Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran immigrant at the center of a sprawling dispute over President Trump’s immigration crackdown, faced possible imminent deportation to the East African nation of Uganda on Monday after surrendering to authorities in Baltimore.
Abrego Garcia, 30, turned himself in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, who said they would start processing him for deportation, although his lawyers vowed to sue to block any removal effort.
He told supporters gathered for a rally outside the ICE office that he was proud to fight for his freedom.
“I always want you to remember that today, I can say with pride, that I am free and have been reunited with my family,” Abrego Garcia said.
Immigration officials have said they plan to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he declined an offer to be removed to the central American nation of Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty to human smuggling charges.
According to his defense attorneys, the government gave Abrego Garcia until first thing Monday to accept the Costa Rica deal plea deal or face the threat of being sent to Uganda, an impoverished nation where he has no ties and where his native Spanish is not widely spoken.
The new drama unfolded after Abrego Garcia celebrated his return Friday to his American citizen wife and family in Maryland, where he had lived for years and worked as a sheet metal worker.
In a statement, Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said the criminal charges underscore how Abrego Garcia presents a “clear danger” and that he should be removed from the U.S. or be tried and convicted.
“Either way, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the American people,” Gilmartin said.
Abrego Garcia’s case became a flash point in Trump’s crackdown on immigration after he was detained and mistakenly deported to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador in March, despite a judge’s earlier determination that he faced a “well-founded fear” of violence there.
The Trump administration says it wants to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and end what it calls an “invasion” of the U.S. by newcomers.
Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the United States in June, but then detained him on human smuggling charges.
He pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming that it is legally flimsy and a brazen attempt to punish him for challenging his deportation to El Salvador.
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