The story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a resident of the United States who was incorrectly deported to El Salvador and later became a symbol of the Trump administration’s strict immigration policy, has taken another unexpected turn.
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a US resident, was initially deported to El Salvador and later faced legal challenges in Tennessee.
- ICE allegedly issued Abrego Garcia the ultimatum of pleading guilty or being deported to Uganda.
- Prosecutors had previously proposed deportation to Costa Rica contingent on a guilty plea and compliance with penalties.
- Abrego Garcia, married to a US citizen, declined these agreements, raising concerns over coercion and indefinite detention.
Abrego Garcia was freed on bail Friday night in Tennessee, where he is facing trafficking charges.
Within minutes after his release, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allegedly issued him an ultimatum: plead guilty or face deportation to Uganda.
Earlier, prosecutors sought to reach an agreement, proposing to deport him to Costa Rica if he immediately submitted a guilty plea and completed his term.
Abrego Garcia, who is married to a US citizen and wants to stay with his family in Maryland, turned down the offer.
As seen in a report by Bloomberg, ICE and the US Justice Department “are obviously working in lockstep to coerce Mr. Abrego into accepting a guilty plea in his criminal case, holding over his head the prospect of possible indefinite detention, or worse, in a country halfway across the world,” Garcia’s lawyer stated.
Sean Hecker, Garcia’s lawyer, argued that the alleged threat by ICE supports his position that the case should be dropped due to spiteful prosecution.
Abrego Garcia’s case exemplifies the far-reaching and often ambiguous repercussions of Trump’s immigration plan, which prioritized deporting illegal migrants, convicted felons, and others with dubious paperwork, even to nations where they had no connection.
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Donald Trump’s deportation policy and Uganda
The threat is tied to a recent, contentious agreement between Washington and Uganda.
As part of Donald Trump’s wider immigration strategy, the United States is now deporting rejected asylum applicants and refugees with contested documents to other nations.
Reports on the Uganda agreement have been inconsistent. On August 20, Okello Oryem, Uganda’s state minister for foreign affairs, denied that his nation had committed to house US deportees, saying to Reuters via a phone call that Kampala was not a part of any such arrangement.
However, less than 24 hours later, the Ugandan government redefined its position on the deal, stating that it would allow select migrants under “specific conditions.”
The inconsistent assertions increased confusion about Uganda’s role in Washington’s deportation efforts. Nonetheless, the confirmation highlighted Uganda’s relevance as a prospective destination for migrants who have no links to the East African country but are being diverted there under US policy.
