After being threatened with deportation to Uganda last week, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is now facing removal to Eswatini, an African nation about the size of New Jersey. The Maryland man was wrongly deported to his native El Salvador earlier this year, and his case has since become a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
‘Claim of fear is hard to take seriously’
On Friday, Trump administration officials told Abrego Garcia’s legal team that they are now looking to deport him to Eswatini, a tiny dictatorship in Africa ruled by a monarch. The move comes one week after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) threatened to send Abrego Garcia to Uganda.
In an email, Abrego Garcia’s legal team reportedly told DHS that their client fears violent retaliation in Uganda. However, in a response, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials stated that the claim is “hard to take seriously,” saying Abrego Garcia has cited similar fears in more than 20 other nations.
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“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,” an ICE official said, adding, “Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.”
According to The Hill, Eswatini is among a few African countries that recently agreed to accept immigrants deported from the U.S. Five men, all of whom reportedly have criminal convictions, were sent there in July.
An ICE official also confirmed the development with CNN, saying, “TRUE: An immigration judge ordered [Abrego Garcia] removed and ICE will comply with that order.”
All of this comes after the U.S. wrongfully deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison, CECOT, due to a paperwork error. After discovering the error, the government fought to keep him detained, accusing him of ties to MS-13. Abrego Garcia and his supporters continue to deny the charges.
In June, Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. following a court order. He was held in custody in Tennessee until his release on Aug. 22. However, by Aug. 25, he was back in custody after turning himself in to ICE agents.
Potential gag order
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers are not only fighting to keep their client in the U.S., but also to ensure that he gets a fair trial, should one come to pass.
Earlier this week, the legal team representing the 30-year-old father and husband of a U.S. citizen filed a gag order against the Trump administration. His attorneys have claimed that the administration’s constant name-calling is jeopardizing his right to a fair trial.
After Abrego Garcia reported to jail in Baltimore following his initial release last month, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X, calling him an illegal alien, gang member, human trafficker, domestic abuser and child predator.
Abrego Garcia has no criminal convictions inside or outside of the U.S.
President Donald Trump has also referred to him as an animal in the past, while Attorney General Pam Bondi linked Abrego Garcia to a “foreign terrorist organization.” His lawyers said the Department of Homeland Security has also “posted a litany of inflammatory statements on its official X account.”
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said these claims are baseless, and the public attacks are meant to vilify their client before he ever sees a jury. They argued it risks “prejudicing the proceedings.”
