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Tag: Kilmar Abrego Garcia

  • Weekly breakdown: Where does Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case stand now? – WTOP News

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    Since March, President Trump’s administration has made an example of a Salvadoran native who lived in Maryland with his family, Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia was detained by immigration authorities in Baltimore on Monday to face renewed efforts to deport him after a brief period of freedom.
    In this undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in April 2025, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is forced to sit with other prisoners by guards in the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador.
    (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP)

    U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia
    FILE – This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
    (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP)

    Murray Osorio PLLC via AP

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia's family at rally
    The family of Kilmar Abrego Garcia stands at a rally to demand his release. Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported in March to a prison in El Salvador.
    (WTOP/Kate Ryan)

    WTOP/Kate Ryan

    Maryland Deportation Error
    Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASA’s Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025.
    (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

    AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

    Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen with Kilmar Abrego Garcia
    Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen with Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
    (Courtesy Chris Van Hollen)

    Courtesy Chris Van Hollen

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia
    This courtroom sketch depicts, from left, attorney Sean Hecker, Kilmar Abrego Garcia and attorney Rascoe Dean in court during Garcia’s detention hearing on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
    (AP Photo/Diego Fishburn)

    AP Photo/Diego Fishburn

    Protesters gather outside the Federal Courthouse
    Protesters gather outside the Federal Courthouse before arguments about whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia can be released from jail on Friday, June 13, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn.
    (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

    AP Photo/George Walker IV

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia
    Kilmar Abrego Garcia, third from right, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn.
    (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

    AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia hugs his youngest son
    Kilmar Abrego Garcia hugs his youngest son, with his wife Jennifer to his right.
    (Courtesy CASA)

    Courtesy CASA

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia
    Jennifer Vasquez Sura, front left, and her husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia, front center, attend a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia
    Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Abrego Garcia.
    (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Since March, President Donald Trump’s administration has made an example of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who lived in Maryland with his family.

    The now-30-year-old was deported to an infamous maximum security prison in El Salvador and has since been transferred to Tennessee and then back to Maryland. He’s now faced with the  threat of again being deported, but this time to Uganda.

    But, how did this case begin? Let’s break it down.

    March

    On March 12, Abrego Garcia was arrested while driving in Baltimore after working a shift as a sheet metal apprentice and picking up his 5-year-old son, who has autism and other disabilities, from his grandmother’s house.

    Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador who illegally entered the U.S. in 2011, had previously received a withholding of removal order in 2019 by an immigration judge who said he’d likely face harm if returned to his home country.

    The Trump administration admitted its violation of the judge’s order was “an administrative error.”

    Robert Cerna, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting field office director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, wrote in a court document that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was “carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order of removal and Abrego Garcia’s purported membership in MS-13.”

    Police and other immigration officials asserted Abrego Garcia’s involvement in the MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, gang because he wore a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie and had tattoos on his hands and arms.

    April

    While calls from around the country were being made for Abrego Garcia’s return, the Trump administration doubled down.

    U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia on April 4. The Supreme Court ruled on April 10 that the administration must work to bring him back. A three-judge panel from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the administration’s claim that it can’t do anything to free Abrego Garcia and return him to the U.S. “should be shocking.”

    During a meeting between Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in April, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said two courts found Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13. Miller said that once the gang was declared a foreign terrorist organization, Abrego Garcia “was no longer eligible for any form of immigration relief,” and was not legally allowed to be in the U.S.

    In that same meeting, Bukele called the idea of returning Abrego Garcia to the United States “preposterous,” adding he has no basis to return a “terrorist.”

    In an April 16 social media post, the Department of Homeland Security showed court filings for a domestic violence protective order against Abrego Garcia, which claimed in May 2021 he attacked his wife, ripping off her shirt, grabbing her and bruising her. The case was dismissed when his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, failed to appear in court.

    While visiting the Central American country, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, met with Abrego Garcia, writing in a post on X that he was able to “pass along his message of love” from his wife. Van Hollen’s meeting came hours after he said he was denied entry into the high-security Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where Abrego Garcia was being held.

    Tens of other Democratic lawmakers held meetings in El Salvador, warning of the unprecedented disregard for the constitutional right to trial and pushing for Abrego Garcia’s return.

    May

    Authorities from Tennessee released a video in May that showed Abrego Garcia being stopped by police for speeding in 2022. Body camera footage shows Abrego Garcia telling the responding officer that he and eight others inside the vehicle had been working construction in Missouri.

    Because officers did not see any luggage in the vehicle, they suspected it was a human trafficking incident. However, the officer did not cite Abrego Garcia for driving infractions, instead writing him up for driving with an expired driver’s license.

    ABC News reported that the man whose vehicle Abrego Garcia was driving during the traffic stop is incarcerated in Alabama. Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, 38, claimed Abrego Garcia worked for his “taxi service,” transporting undocumented immigrants from Texas to other states.

    When details of the Tennessee traffic stop were first publicized, Abrego Garcia’s wife said he sometimes transported groups of fellow construction workers between job sites.

    June

    On June 6, Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States, but only to a Nashville prison where he was to face criminal human smuggling charges. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.

    U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, the presiding federal judge in Abrego Garcia’s case in Tennessee, ordered his release from jail before his trial, despite the threat of ICE taking him back into custody.

    Holmes acknowledged in her ruling Sunday that determining whether Abrego Garcia should be released is “little more than an academic exercise” because ICE will likely detain him. But the judge wrote that the government failed to prove that Abrego was a flight risk, that he posed a danger to the community or that he would interfere with proceedings if released.

    Ultimately, Abrego Garcia remained in jail ahead of his trial as his attorneys worked to prevent his deportation if he was released.

    During a court hearing, Holmes set specific conditions for Abrego Garcia’s release that included him living with his brother, a U.S. citizen, in Maryland. But she held off on releasing him over concerns that prosecutors can’t prevent ICE from deporting him.

    Abrego Garcia’s attorneys asked the judge, who had already extended the waiting period before the trial, to keep him in jail because of “contradictory statements” by the Trump administration over whether or not he’ll be deported upon release.

    “The irony of this request is not lost on anyone,” the attorneys wrote.

    July

    Abrego Garcia said he faced terrible treatment and psychological torture while in the notorious CECOT prison. He said he was kicked and hit, forced to kneel for long periods of time and deprived of sleep.

    In a document filed in federal district court in Maryland in July, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said on the second day he was at the prison, “he had visible bruises and lumps all over his body.”

    Bukele denied the claims, saying, “If he’d been tortured, sleep-deprived, and starved, why does he look so well in every picture?”

    The Trump administration said it would plan to deport Abrego Garcia if he were released from criminal custody before his Tennessee trial.

    CBS News reported that Emil Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general for the Department of Justice, sent text and email messages allegedly offering new insight into the administration’s response to its mistaken deportation of Abrego Garcia in March. A whistleblower who revealed the message showed him unsuccessfully pressing his colleagues to fulfill a court order to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.

    By July 16, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw to, yet again, delay his release from jail in order to prevent the administration from deporting him. The attorneys filed a motion for a 30-day stay of any release order that would allow Abrego Garcia to “evaluate his options and determine whether additional relief is necessary.”

    August

    The day finally arrived, Abrego Garcia was released from a rural Tennessee jail on Aug. 22.

    He rejoined his family in Maryland while he awaited trial on human smuggling charges.

    Video released by advocates showed a room decorated with streamers, flowers and signs. He embraced loved ones and thanked them “for everything.”

    Jossie Flor Sapunar, with CASA, the organization providing legal assistance to Abrego-Garcia and his family, told WTOP’s Nick Iannelli that the moment was “bittersweet” because he was finally reunited with his family but still faced the threat of deportation again.

    “The joy is here, but it’s agonizing knowing he faces that deportation threat,” she said. “Unfortunately, nothing we have seen so far gives us the lasting optimism that Kilmar’s reunification with his family will be permanent.”

    Unfortunately, Sapunar was right.

    Despite Abrego Garcia’s release into his brother’s custody for home detention, ICE told his attorneys he was to report to immigration authorities three days later. He was detained by immigration authorities in Baltimore, who argue they may deport him to the East African nation of Uganda.

    Although Abrego Garcia can’t be deported to El Salvador without violating the judge’s order, officials have said they plan to deport him to any country that will take him.

    Before he was taken into custody, Abrego Garcia spoke in front of a crowd of supporters, saying through a translator: “Promise me that you will continue to pray, continue to fight, resist and love.”

    Since Aug. 25, Abrego Garcia has been in immigration custody once again.

    His lawyers have sought a gag order on the Trump administration, ordering them to stop making negative comments that they say could jeopardize a fair trial.

    After being taken into ICE custody, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said he is seeking asylum in the U.S.

    Maryland District Court Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing a suit challenging Abrego Garcia’s detention and deportation, has ruled the government cannot remove him from the continental U.S. before an evidentiary hearing for the lawsuit on Oct. 6.

    She also ordered that he be kept within 200 miles of her court in Greenbelt to ensure he can access his lawyers. He’s being held at a detention facility in Farmville, Virginia, which is west of Richmond, according to ICE’s website.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Ciara Wells

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  • Abrego Garcia’s lawyers seek gag order on Trump administration officials after perp walk video – WTOP News

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    Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia have asked a federal judge to order Trump administration officials to stop making negative comments about him that they say could jeopardize his right to a fair trial.

    Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year, have asked a federal judge to order Trump administration officials to stop making negative comments about him that they say could jeopardize his right to a fair trial on human smuggling charges in Tennessee.

    In a Thursday filing, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said top U.S. government officials from the White House, Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security “have attacked Mr. Abrego in the media in numerous highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and false statements.”

    His lawyers said officials have “expressed the opinion that he is guilty of the crimes charged and far worse.”

    The Maryland construction worker, 30, was detained Monday in Baltimore by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after leaving a Tennessee jail last Friday, Aug. 22. Administration officials have said he’s part of the dangerous MS-13 gang, and plan to deport him to the African country of Uganda.

    Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have denied allegations that he is part of the gang. In the filing, they referenced statements from officials that label him as someone who’s committed various crimes, even though he hasn’t been convicted of any crimes.

    The charges in Tennessee are connected to a 2022 traffic stop, during which officers said he was pulled over for speeding. Abrego Garcia had $1,400 in cash on him and nine passengers in the SUV. Officers had a conversation about their suspicions of smuggling, but he was allowed to drive away with only a warning.

    The indictment alleges from 2016 to 2025 Abrego Garcia was involved in a conspiracy to transport migrants who were already in the country. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty.

    This past Monday, shortly after Abrego Garcia was taken into custody, the Department of Homeland Security, on its official X account, posted video of him, handcuffed and shackled, being walked toward an elevator in the Baltimore field office by an ICE agent.

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a statement announcing Abrego Garcia’s ICE arrest: “President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator, to terrorize American citizens any longer.”

    The unproven allegations in the DHS statement are included in the charging documents in the U.S.’s Tennessee case against Abrego Garcia. Government officials have acknowledged the in-depth investigation, and eventual indictment against Abrego Garcia began after he had already filed a federal lawsuit in Maryland, challenging his deportation to El Salvador.

    During broadcast and published interviews since Abrego Garcia was taken into ICE custody Monday, government officials have described him as “a gang member and designated terrorist,” as well as a “wife beater, pedophile, human trafficker.”

    Noem’s comments included, “He’s a horrible individual who needs to be held accountable for his crimes.”

    This is the third request to the judge to stem extrajudicial comments from U.S. officials from any agency who could play a role in Abrego Garcia’s prosecution.

    “If the government is allowed to continue this way, it will taint any conceivable jury pool by exposing the entire country to irrelevant, prejudicial, and false claims against Mr. Abrego,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers wrote.

    After being taken into ICE custody earlier this week, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said he is seeking asylum in the U.S.

    Maryland District Court Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing a suit challenging Abrego Garcia’s detention and deportation, has ruled the government cannot remove him from the continental U.S. before an evidentiary hearing for the lawsuit on Oct. 6.

    She also ordered that he be kept within 200 miles of her court in Greenbelt to ensure he can access his lawyers. He’s being held at a detention facility in Farmville, Virginia, which is west of Richmond, according to ICE’s website.

    In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security said the media has peddled a sob story about Abrego Garcia that has “completely fallen apart.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s lawyers ask judge to ban top Trump admin. officials from making “baseless public attacks”

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    Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked a judge on Thursday to bar top Trump administration officials — including Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi — from making “baseless public attacks” against their client, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year.

    The motion was filed in Nashville federal court less than a week after Abrego Garcia was released from pre-trial custody — only to be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and processed for possible deportation just days later. Abrego Garcia is now in the custody of ICE, though a Maryland judge has blocked him from being deported while she reviews the case.

    Since Friday, his lawyers say federal officials have “attacked Mr. Abrego in the media in numerous highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and false statements,” which they argue violates his right to a fair trial.

    They pointed to a statement by Noem on Friday that called Abrego Garcia an “MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator,” and comments by Bondi on Monday likening Abrego Garcia to “foreign terrorist organizations.”

    His lawyers also said the Department of Homeland Security “has posted a litany of inflammatory statements on its official X account,” including allegations that Abrego Garcia belonged to the gang MS-13 — which he has vehemently denied.

    “The government’s ongoing barrage of prejudicial statements severely threaten—and perhaps have already irrevocably impaired—the ability to try this case at all—in any venue,” the motion said. “If the government is allowed to continue in this way, it will taint any conceivable jury pool by exposing the entire country to irrelevant, prejudicial, and false claims about Mr. Abrego.”

    They also argued the government could make it harder for Abrego Garcia to call defense witnesses, since any potential witnesses could worry that they’ll be attacked, too.

    Abrego Garcia’s lawyers want a judge to order “all DOJ and DHS officials involved in this case,” including Bondi and Noem, to stop making comments that could prejudice the case.

    Last month, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ordered all lawyers in the case to abide by local criminal court rules, after Abrego Garcia’s attorneys argued the government had violated a rule against making public statements that could prejudice the case.

    A DHS official said in response to the filing: “If Kilmar Abrego Garcia did not want to be mentioned by the Secretary of Homeland Security, then he should have not entered our country illegally and committed heinous crimes.”

    “The media’s sympathetic narrative about this criminal illegal alien has completely fallen apart, yet they continue to peddle his sob story. We hear far too much about gang members and criminals’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims,” the official said.

    CBS News has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

    The request came as Abrego Garcia both awaits a criminal prosecution for allegedly transporting undocumented immigrants from near the U.S.-Mexico border to elsewhere in the country — which he has denied — and faces possible deportation to East Africa. 

    Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who entered the U.S. illegally in 2011, was arrested by ICE in March, deported to El Salvador and held in prison for months — even though an immigration judge had barred him from being sent to El Salvador due to a fear of gang persecution. 

    Federal officials acknowledged Abrego Garcia’s removal to El Salvador was an “administrative error,” but the Trump administration publicly railed against him, accusing him of gang membership and asserting that he should not return to the United States. He was eventually flown to Tennessee in June and jailed on human smuggling charges.

    A judge in Tennessee ruled in June that he should be let out of detention while awaiting a trial set for January. Administration officials suggested that if he left pre-trial detention, he could face deportation again, possibly to a country other than El Salvador.

    He was ultimately let out of jail on Friday, and on Monday, ICE detained him. His lawyers were informed that he could be deported to Uganda.

    Maryland-based U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has ruled that Abrego Garcia cannot be deported until at least early October, as she considers a habeas corpus petition. His lawyers say he also plans to seek asylum in the United States.

    Meanwhile, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have asked for his criminal charges to be tossed out, calling the prosecution “vindictive and selective.”

    Joe Walsh

    Joe Walsh is a senior editor for digital politics at CBS News. Joe previously covered breaking news for Forbes and local news in Boston.

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia requests asylum in the US, hoping to prevent his deportation to Uganda – WTOP News

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    Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has come to encapsulate much of President Donald Trump ’s hard-line immigration agenda, wants to seek asylum in the United States, his lawyers told a federal judge Wednesday.

    EEUU-DEPORTADO POR ERROR-QUÉ SABER Kilmar Ábrego García, a la derecha, y su hermano César Ábrego García, al centro, llegan a la oficina del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas, el lunes 25 de agosto de 2025, en Baltimore. (AP Foto/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Foto/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Jennifer Vasquez Sura, front left, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/KT Kanazawich)

    AP Photo/KT Kanazawich

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has come to encapsulate much of President Donald Trump ’s hard-line immigration agenda, wants to seek asylum in the United States, his lawyers told a federal judge Wednesday.

    Abrego Garcia, 30, was detained Monday by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in Baltimore after leaving a Tennessee jail on Friday. The Trump administration said it intends to deport him to the African country of Uganda.

    Administration officials have said he’s part of the dangerous MS-13 gang, an allegation Abrego Garcia denies.

    The Salvadoran national’s lawyers are fighting the deportation efforts in court, arguing he has the right to express fear of persecution and torture in Uganda. Abrego Garcia has also told immigration authorities he would prefer to be sent to Costa Rica if he must be removed from the U.S.

    A request for asylum in 2019

    A U.S. immigration judge denied his request for asylum in 2019 because he applied more than a year after he had fled to the U.S. He left El Salvador at the age of 16, around 2011, to join his brother, who had become a U.S. citizen and was living in Maryland.

    Although he was denied asylum, the immigration judge did issue an order shielding Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he faced credible threats of violence from a gang there that had terrorized him and his family. He was granted a form of protection known as “withholding of removal,” which prohibits him from being sent to El Salvador but allows his deportation to another country.

    Following the 2019 ruling, Abrego Garcia was released under federal supervision and continued to live with his American wife and children in Maryland. He checked in with ICE each year, received a federal work permit and was working as a sheet metal apprentice earlier this year, his lawyers have said.

    But in March, the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia to a notorious El Salvador prison, alleging he was a member of MS-13.

    The allegation stems from a day in 2019 when Abrego Garcia sought work as a day laborer at a Home Depot in Maryland. Authorities had been told by a confidential informant that Abrego Garcia and other men could be identified as members of MS-13 because of their clothing and tattoos. He was detained by police, but Abrego Garcia was never charged — and has repeatedly denied the allegation. He was turned over to ICE and that’s when he applied for asylum for the first time.

    Wrongful deportation and return

    The Trump administration’s deportation of Abrego Garcia in March violated the immigration judge’s 2019 order barring his removal to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia’s wife sued to bring him back. Facing mounting pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. in June, where he was charged with human smuggling, a federal offense.

    Abrego Garcia is accused of taking money to transport people who were in the country illegally. He has pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, saying it was filed to punish him for challenging his deportation.

    The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding in Tennessee. There were nine passengers in the SUV and Abrego Garcia had $1,400 in cash on him. While officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling, he was allowed to drive away with only a warning.

    A Homeland Security agent testified that he didn’t begin investigating until this April, when the government was facing mounting pressure to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. The trial is set for January.

    A federal judge in Tennessee released Abrego Garcia from jail on Friday after ruling that he was not a flight risk or a danger. The Trump administration moved to deport Abrego Garcia again on Monday, alleging he is a danger.

    Abrego Garcia then stated his intent to reopen his immigration case in Maryland and to seek asylum again, his lawyers said Wednesday. Asylum, as defined under U.S. law, provides a green card and a path to citizenship. Abrego Garcia can still challenge his deportation to Uganda, or any other country, on grounds that it is unsafe.

    Abrego Garcia’s lawyers say sending him to Uganda would be punishment for successfully fighting his deportation to El Salvador, refusing to plead guilty to the smuggling charges and for seeking release from jail in Tennessee.

    Judge keeps Abrego Garcia in the US, for now

    Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have filed a federal lawsuit to ensure that he can exercise his constitutionally protected right to fight deportation. He is entitled to immigration court proceedings and appeals, his lawyers say.

    U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland, who is overseeing the lawsuit, has ruled that the U.S. government cannot remove Abrego Garcia from the country as the lawsuit plays out.

    Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign said the government disagrees with the court’s order not to remove him while the lawsuit is pending but that it will comply.

    Xinis will not rule on whether Abrego Garcia receives asylum or is deported, but will determine if he can exercise his right to contest deportation. His asylum case will be heard by a U.S. immigration judge, who is employed by the Department of Justice under the authority of the Trump administration.

    The nation’s immigration courts have become a key focus of Trump’s hard-line immigration enforcement efforts. The president has fired more than 50 immigration judges since he returned to the White House in January.

    Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have said he’ll be able to appeal immigration court rulings to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

    ___

    Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat contributed to this report.

    Copyright
    © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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    WTOP Staff

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Salvadoran man in immigration custody, to seek asylum in U.S., lawyer says

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    Washington — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man who was taken into immigration custody after he was released pending a criminal trial, has asked an immigration judge to reopen his immigration proceedings and is seeking asylum in the United States, his lawyer said during a court hearing Wednesday.

    Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Abrego Garcia’s attorney, told a federal judge overseeing a legal challenge to his immigration detention that the Salvadoran man made the request Tuesday, one day after he was taken back into custody by U.S. immigration authorities in Baltimore. 

    Abrego Garcia had been summoned for an interview with Immigration and Customs Enforcement at its Baltimore field office after he was released from criminal custody in Tennessee on Friday while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to a notice. When he arrived at the Baltimore office, Abrego Garcia was then taken into custody by ICE and was being processed for deportation to Uganda, the Department of Homeland Security said.

    But Abrego Garcia swiftly filed a petition challenging the legality of his detention, and U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued an order temporarily blocking his removal to Uganda.

    At a brief status hearing Wednesday, Xinis, who is overseeing the cases filed by Abrego Garcia, extended her temporary restraining order until at least early October, keeping Abrego Garcia in ICE detention in the U.S. until she rules on his habeas petition.

    Her order blocks the Trump administration from removing Abrego Garcia from the continental U.S. and ensures that he remains in an ICE detention center within 200 miles of Greenbelt, Maryland, so he has access to attorneys in his civil and criminal cases. Abrego Garcia is being held at a facility in Virginia, Sandoval-Moshenberg said earlier this week.

    Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign said that the Department of Homeland Security is “committed” to not removing Abrego Garcia until Xinis rules, but said the government objected to the extension of the temporary restraining order.

    Xinis scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Oct. 6 and said she planned to issue a decision within 30 days.

    A Salvadoran national who came to the U.S. unlawfully in 2011, Abrego Garcia was deported to a prison in El Salvador in March. But the government said his deportation to El Salvador was an administrative error, as Abrego Garcia had legal protection that prohibited immigration officials from removing him to his home country because of possible persecution by local gangs.  

    Abrego Garcia filed a lawsuit over his deportation, and Xinis, who was assigned the case, ordered the Trump administration in April to facilitate his return. The Department of Homeland Security resisted doing so for weeks, but in early June, Abrego Garcia was brought back to the U.S. after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of human smuggling.

    Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the two counts, and a judge in Tennessee, where he was charged, ordered him released on bail while awaiting trial, which is set to begin in January. Abrego Garcia left criminal confinement in Tennessee on Friday and returned to Maryland, where he has lived for more than a decade.

    But he soon learned that the Trump administration would be seeking to deport him to Uganda. Abrego Garcia raised fears of persecution and torture if removed to the East African country and formally designated Costa Rica as the country to which he wanted to be removed, according to court papers. 

    Abrego Garcia applied for asylum in 2019, but an immigration judge in Maryland said he waited too long to do so. Federal immigration law requires an asylum-seeker to file an application within one year of their arrival to the U.S. The immigration judge said in a 2019 decision that Abrego Garcia filed his application for asylum seven years after he came to the U.S., “well-beyond the one-year filing deadline.”

    Still, the judge who evaluated Abrego Garcia’s request for asylum said he provided “credible responses” to questions and provided “substantial documentation” bolstering his claim for asylum, including affidavits from family members describing threats by a local gang.

    “His testimony was internally consistent, externally consistent with his asylum application and other documents, and appeared free of embellishment,” the immigration judge, David Jones, wrote, adding that “the court finds the respondent credible.”

    While Abrego Garcia’s application for asylum was denied at that time, Jones did grant him a withholding of removal, the legal status that shielded him from deportation to El Salvador.

    Melissa Quinn

    Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.

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  • Fact-checking claims about Kilmar Abrego Garcia

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    The Trump administration again detained Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen and Maryland resident whose wrongful deportation case gained national attention at the beginning of the administration’s illegal immigration crackdown.

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Abrego Garcia during his Aug. 25 immigration check-in. A Department of Homeland Security press release said Abrego Garcia was being processed for deportation to Uganda, but a district judge ordered him not to be deported until she can hold an evidentiary hearing

    Trump officials defended Abrego Garcia’s detention and deportation by continuing to level accusations against him since wrongly deporting him in March to an El Salvador maximum-security prison. Abrego Garcia had a withholding of removal order that prevented his deportation to his home country. He sued the U.S. government over his mistaken deportation in April and was returned to the U.S. on June 6 to face criminal charges. He was imprisoned in Tennessee, but a judge ordered his release July 23 while he awaits trial.

    In Aug. 25 remarks during an executive order signing, President Donald Trump said of Abrego Garcia, “He beat the hell out of his wife, his wife is afraid to even talk about him. She’s been mauled by this animal. And you know, through a system of liberal courts, you know, he’s doing things. But now we have that under control.”

    U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the same ceremony, “(Abrego Garcia) will no longer terrorize our country. He’s currently charged with human smuggling, including children.”

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    Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in an X post, “President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer.” 

    Some of these statements are exaggerated, and others are based on information from dubious informants. Here’s what we know about Abrego Garcia’s history.

    Recent judicial decisions said the government hasn’t proven Abrego Garcia’s gang membership

    Trump and his administration officials have repeatedly said Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, a gang that originated in Los Angeles and is composed primarily of Salvadoran immigrants and their descendants. Abrego Garcia and his lawyer said he is not an MS-13  member. Federal judges in 2025 have agreed. 

    A federal judge in July described the U.S. government’s “poor attempts to tie Abrego to MS-13,” saying that to conclude Abrego Garcia is a member of or affiliated with MS-13, the court “would have to make so many inferences” that the “conclusion would border on fanciful.”

    Claims of Abrego Garcia’s alleged gang membership date to 2019 when Maryland police took him into custody while he was looking for day labor outside a Home Depot. Officers asked Abrego Garcia if he was a gang member, and he said no. A police informant told law enforcement that Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 gang member, according to a police report known as a “gang field interview sheet.”

    ICE took Abrego Garcia into custody after the arrest and Abrego Garcia sought bond. An immigration judge denied his initial bond request, describing officers’ determination that he was a member of MS-13 as “trustworthy” and “supported by other evidence in the record.”

    Abrego Garcia appealed that ruling, and an appeals board upheld the judge’s decision, saying the judge “appropriately considered allegations of gang affiliation.”

    In April, while Abrego Garcia was imprisoned in El Salvador, two judges said the U.S. government didn’t sufficiently prove Abrego Garcia’s gang membership.

    Trump has falsely said Abrego Garcia has the figures “MS-13” tattooed on his knuckles. 

    “There is no evidence before the Court that Abrego: has markings or tattoos showing gang affiliation; has working relationships with known MS-13 members; ever told any of the witnesses that he is a MS-13 member; or has ever been affiliated with any sort of gang activity,” Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw said in the July decision ordering Abrego Garcia’s release. 

    Grand jury indicted Abrego Garcia for transporting undocumented immigrants across the border

    Noem said Abrego Garcia was involved in human trafficking. That’s inaccurate.

    A grand jury indictment charged Abrego Garcia with one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants in the U.S. illegally, and one count of unlawful transportation of undocumented people. The May 21 indictment was unsealed June 6. 

    Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stem from a 2022 traffic stop. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes reiterated that Abrego Garcia is charged with human smuggling, not human trafficking. Trafficking is a crime against people, regardless of their immigration status or crossing of a border, while smuggling is a crime against a country’s immigration laws.

    The indictment alleges that from 2016 to 2025, Abrego Garcia participated in a criminal conspiracy to bring undocumented immigrants from “countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and elsewhere” who crossed the Mexico border into Texas.

    In some instances, the indictment said, MS-13 members and their associates accompanied Abrego Garcia on trips transporting people illegally in the U.S. from Texas to other U.S. locations. Some of the people he transported were also MS-13 members and associates, the indictment said.

    It alleged that Abrego Garcia and coconspirators “transported children on the floorboards of vehicles.”

    In a 2022 traffic stop, a Tennessee Highway Patrol state trooper found Abrego Garcia driving nine passengers, all Hispanic men, the indictment said. Other government statements said he was driving eight people. 

    At the time, Abrego Garcia was released with a warning for driving with an expired license. 

    Defense attorneys questioned the credentials and motives of unnamed cooperating witnesses — people who provide information to the Justice Department as part of an agreement. 

    CNN reported that one witness is a two-time felon who had been deported from the U.S. five times, and has again returned illegally, seeking work authorization. Another admitted to human trafficking and is being held with criminal charges.

    Abrego Garcia’s wife filed two protective orders against him over domestic violence

    Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen, filed protective orders against him in 2020 and 2021. In the orders, Vasquez Sura said Abrego Garcia had slapped, punched and bruised her. 

    A few days after filing the 2020 protective order, Vasquez Sura, filed an order rescinding it, citing her son’s birthday and saying Abrego Garcia had agreed to go to counseling. 

    After the 2021 filing, a court ordered Abrego Garcia not to contact, harass or abuse Vasquez Sura. 

    Vasquez Sura has criticized the Trump administration, telling Newsweek that her protective orders are “not a justification for ICE’s action.”

    “After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution following a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order, in case things escalated,” she said. “Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process. We were able to work through the situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling.”

    In July, Judge Crenshaw said, “The allegations against Abrego in the protective orders are both serious and concerning.”

    However, he said, the matters had been resolved and “there is no proof offered to suggest that Abrego failed to comply with those orders while they were in place, nor evidence suggesting that Abrego has engaged in similar conduct over the past four years.”

    Bondi’s accusations against Abrego Garcia based on information from coconspirators

    Bondi has floated a connection between Abrego Garcia and other crimes, without filing charges.

    In June 6 remarks, Bondi said, “A coconspirator alleged that the defendant solicited nude photographs and videos of a minor. A coconspirator also alleges the defendant played a role in the murder of a rival gang member’s mother.” 

    These allegations don’t appear on the indictment, but they were mentioned in the government’s motion for detention, which said it learned that Abrego Garcia “solicited nude photographs and videos of a minor, beginning in approximately 2020.” That motion said “no charges against the defendant regarding child pornography have been filed, but it demonstrates the danger the defendant poses to the community not just with respect to alien smuggling,” adding that investigation into that solicitation is ongoing. The government’s motion for detention was denied.

    In court, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers objected to hearsay and at times “multiple tiers of hearsay,” CNN reported, including when a federal agent said he heard that a cooperator heard someone else accusing Abrego Garcia of sexually harassing women.

    PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia detained by ICE in Baltimore, faces deportation efforts – WTOP News

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    The Maryland construction worker became the face of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported in March to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador.

    Listen to WTOP for continuing live coverage from Baltimore on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s ICE appointment.

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    Before being detained by ICE, Kilmar Abrego Garcia gives speech to a crowd

    BALTIMORE (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s aggressive effort to remove noncitizens from the U.S., was detained by immigration authorities in Baltimore on Monday to face renewed efforts to deport him after a brief period of freedom.

    Abrego Garcia’s attorneys quickly filed a lawsuit to fight those removal efforts until a court has heard his claim for protection, stating that the U.S. could place him in a country where “his safety cannot be assured.”

    The new lawsuit triggered a blanket court order that automatically pauses deportation efforts for two days. The order applies to immigrants in Maryland who are challenging their detention.

    Crowd yells ‘shame!’

    Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old Maryland construction worker and Salvadoran national, spoke at a rally before he turned himself in.

    “This administration has hit us hard, but I want to tell you guys something: God is with us, and God will never leave us,” Abrego Garcia said, speaking through a translator. “God will bring justice to all the injustice we are suffering.”

    Roughly 200 people had gathered and prayed in front of the Baltimore field office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some held signs with messages such as “Stop Detaining Our Neighbors” and “Free Kilmar.”

    With Abrego Garcia and his wife standing before them, the crowd spoke in unison: “The people united will never be defeated.”

    The crowd waited outside after Abrego Garcia entered the federal building. When his lawyer and wife walked out without him after his detainment, the crowd yelled “Shame!”

    Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X that Abrego Garcia was being processed for deportation. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office that Abrego Garcia “will no longer terrorize our country.”

    But Abrego Garcia’s lead immigration attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said lawyers will fight the administration’s removal attempts.

    “I expect there’s going to be a status conference very promptly, and we’re going to ask for an interim order that he not be deported, pending his due process rights to contest deportation to any particular country,” he said.

    Reunion with family

    Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported in March to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador. He was returned to the U.S. in June, only to face human smuggling charges that his lawyers have called preposterous and vindictive.

    The Trump administration has said it is trying to deport Abrego Garcia months before his trial is scheduled in Tennessee, alleging that the married father is a danger to the community and an MS-13 gang member. He has denied the gang allegation, pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges and has asked a judge to dismiss the case on ground of vindictive prosecution.

    Abrego Garcia was released Friday afternoon from a jail in Tennessee and returned to his family in Maryland. Video released by advocates of the reunion showed a room decorated with streamers, flowers and signs. He embraced loved ones and thanked them “for everything.”

    ‘Hold Abrego Garcia accountable’

    Immigration officials have said they plan to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda, which recently agreed to accept certain deportees from the U.S. He declined an offer to be removed to Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty to human smuggling charges.

    Filings in federal court show the Costa Rican government saying Abrego Garcia would be welcomed as a legal immigrant and wouldn’t face detention.

    In a statement, Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said the criminal charges underscore how Abrego Garcia presents a “clear danger” and that he can either plead guilty or stand trial.

    “Either way, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the American people,” Gilmartin said.

    The U.S. mistakenly deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in March, despite a judge’s earlier determination that he faced a “well-founded fear” of violence there. Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the United States in June, only to detain him on human smuggling charges.

    He pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, calling it an attempt to punish him for challenging his deportation to El Salvador. His lawyers have argued that the threat to deport him to Uganda is more proof that the prosecution is vindictive.

    The smuggling charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding. There were nine passengers in the car, and officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

    Abrego Garcia has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years. Although he was deemed eligible for pretrial release last month, he remained in jail at the request of his attorneys, who feared the Republican administration could try to immediately deport him again if he were freed.

    A recent ruling in a separate case in Maryland required ICE to provide 72 hours’ notice before initiating deportation proceedings — time to allow a prospective deportee to mount a defense. An email from ICE sent to attorneys at 4:01 p.m. on Friday refers to that decision.

    “Please let this email serve as notice that DHS may remove your client, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, to Uganda no earlier than 72 hours from now (absent weekends),” it states. Uganda recently agreed to take deportees from the U.S., provided they do not have criminal records and are not unaccompanied minors.

    Federal officials have argued that Abrego Garcia can be deported because he came to the U.S. illegally and because a U.S. immigration judge deemed him eligible for expulsion in 2019, just not to his native El Salvador.

    ___

    A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Abrego Garcia is being sent to Uganda, a country with a language he doesn’t speak. Uganda’s official language is English.

    Copyright
    © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia taken into ICE custody, facing deportation to Uganda

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    Washington — Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being processed for deportation to Uganda, the Department of Homeland Security said, after he was taken into custody Monday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, days after his release from criminal custody.

    Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, was mistakenly deported to his home country in March and held in a notorious Salvadoran prison for months before being returned to the U.S. in June where he was jailed on federal human smuggling charges. A judge ruled that he should be released from detention ahead of a trial set for January. 

    Abrego Garcia was freed from pretrial detention last Friday. CBS News reported on Saturday that his attorneys were then sent a court-required notice of his potential deportation to Uganda. He arrived at the ICE facility on Monday morning to check in, speaking in Spanish to supporters who had gathered in a show of support outside of the facility. 

    “There was no need for them to take him into ICE detention. He was already on electronic monitoring from the U.S. Marshals Service and basically on house arrest,” his attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him. To punish him for exercising his constitutional rights.”

    The Department of Homeland Security claims Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, which his family denies. 

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that ICE had arrested Abrego Garcia and was “processing him for deportation.” DHS said he is “being processed for removal to Uganda.” The U.S. reached an agreement with Uganda to accept some deportees last week.

    “President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer,” Noem said. 

    Sandoval-Moshenberg said Abrego Garcia filed a new lawsuit Monday challenging his confinement and deportation to any country “unless and until he had a fair trial in an immigration court.” In a legal filing over the weekend, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said he was offered a plea deal that included deportation to Costa Rica. His attorneys said they then received a notice of his possible deportation to Uganda. Sandoval-Moshenberg clarified Monday that Abrego Garcia had stated that he was willing to accept refugee status in Costa Rica.

    “The fact that they’re holding Costa Rica as a carrot and using Uganda as a stick to try to coerce him to plead guilty to a crime is such clear evidence that they’re weaponizing the immigration system in a manner that is completely unconstitutional,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said Monday.

    Sandoval-Moshenberg said an ICE officer did not answer when asked about the reason for Abrego Garcia’s detention and would not say which detention center he would be taken to, or commit to providing paperwork. 

    Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who traveled to El Salvador to advocate for the return of Abrego Garcia earlier this year, met with him Sunday. Van Hollen said in a statement that he was glad to “welcome him back to Maryland after what has been a long and torturous nightmare.”

    “The federal courts and public outcry forced the Administration to bring Ábrego García back to Maryland, but Trump’s cronies continue to lie about the facts in his case and they are engaged in a malicious abuse of power as they threaten to deport him to Uganda — to block his chance to defend himself against the new charges they brought,” Van Hollen said. “As I told Kilmar and his wife Jennifer, we will stay in this fight for justice and due process because if his rights are denied, the rights of everyone else are put at risk.”

    An immigration judge ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia may not be deported to El Salvador because he feared persecution by local gangs in the Central American country.

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore advocated for due process for Abrego Garcia on Sunday, saying on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that “I just simply want a court and a judge to decide what is going to be the future fate of this case and all cases like this, and not simply the president of the United States or the secretary of homeland security who is trying to be judge, juror, prosecutor and executioner inside this case.”

    Camilo Montoya-Galvez

    contributed to this report.

    Kaia Hubbard

    Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia taken into ICE custody, facing deportation to Uganda

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    Washington — Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being processed for deportation to Uganda, the Department of Homeland Security said, after he was taken into custody Monday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, days after his release from criminal custody.

    Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, was mistakenly deported to his home country in March and held in a notorious Salvadoran prison for months before being returned to the U.S. in June where he was jailed on federal human smuggling charges. A judge ruled that he should be released from detention ahead of a trial set for January.

    Abrego Garcia was freed from pretrial detention last Friday. CBS News reported on Saturday that his attorneys were then sent a court-required notice of his potential deportation to Uganda. He arrived at the ICE facility on Monday morning to check in, speaking in Spanish to supporters who had gathered in a show of support outside of the facility.

    “There was no need for them to take him into ICE detention. He was already on electronic monitoring from the U.S. Marshals Service and basically on house arrest,” his attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him. To punish him for exercising his constitutional rights.”

    The Department of Homeland Security claims Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, which his family denies.

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that ICE had arrested Abrego Garcia and was “processing him for deportation.” DHS said he is “being processed for removal to Uganda.” The U.S. reached an agreement with Uganda to accept some deportees last week.

    “President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer,” Noem said.

    Sandoval-Moshenberg said Abrego Garcia filed a new lawsuit Monday challenging his confinement and deportation to any country “unless and until he had a fair trial in an immigration court.” In a legal filing over the weekend, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said he was offered a plea deal that included deportation to Costa Rica. His attorneys said they then received a notice of his possible deportation to Uganda. Sandoval-Moshenberg clarified Monday that Abrego Garcia had stated that he was willing to accept refugee status in Costa Rica.

    “The fact that they’re holding Costa Rica as a carrot and using Uganda as a stick to try to coerce him to plead guilty to a crime is such clear evidence that they’re weaponizing the immigration system in a manner that is completely unconstitutional,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said Monday.

    Sandoval-Moshenberg said an ICE officer did not answer when asked about the reason for Abrego Garcia’s detention and would not say which detention center he would be taken to, or commit to providing paperwork.

    Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who traveled to El Salvador to advocate for the return of Abrego Garcia earlier this year, met with him Sunday. Van Hollen said in a statement that he was glad to “welcome him back to Maryland after what has been a long and torturous nightmare.”

    “The federal courts and public outcry forced the Administration to bring Ábrego García back to Maryland, but Trump’s cronies continue to lie about the facts in his case and they are engaged in a malicious abuse of power as they threaten to deport him to Uganda — to block his chance to defend himself against the new charges they brought,” Van Hollen said. “As I told Kilmar and his wife Jennifer, we will stay in this fight for justice and due process because if his rights are denied, the rights of everyone else are put at risk.”

    An immigration judge ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia may not be deported to El Salvador because he feared persecution by local gangs in the Central American country.

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore advocated for due process for Abrego Garcia on Sunday, saying on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that “I just simply want a court and a judge to decide what is going to be the future fate of this case and all cases like this, and not simply the president of the United States or the secretary of homeland security who is trying to be judge, juror, prosecutor and executioner inside this case.”

    Rainbow crosswalks in Florida painted over

    Welcome to New Orleans

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore calls Trump D.C. National Guard deployment “unconstitutional”

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  • Back home in Maryland, Kilmar Abrego Garcia faces deportation again as he reports to ICE office – WTOP News

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    The scheduled check-in in Baltimore comes just days after the 30-year-old immigrant was released from a jail in Tennessee, where he had been detained since June after being brought back to the U.S. following his mistaken deportation to El Salvador.

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia , second right, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)(AP/Bret Carlsen)

    BALTIMORE (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia was expected Monday to report to U.S. immigration officials in Maryland as the Trump administration says it intends to deport the El Salvadoran national whose arrest and fight to stay in the country have become a flashpoint in the president’s immigration crackdown.

    The scheduled check-in at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore comes just days after the 30-year-old immigrant was released from a jail in Tennessee, where he had been detained since June after being brought back to the U.S. following his mistaken deportation to El Salvador.

    Immigration officials have said they plan to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda, which recently agreed to a deal to accept certain deportees from the U.S., after he declined an offer to be removed to Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty to human smuggling charges.

    According to his defense attorneys, the government has given Abrego Garcia until first thing Monday to accept the plea deal and deportation to Costa Rica, or “that offer will be off the table forever.”

    Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have declined to say if he’s still considering the deal.

    On Friday, Abrego Garcia returned to his family in Maryland. Video released by advocates of the reunion showed a room decorated with streamers, flowers and signs. He embraced loved ones and thanked them “for everything.”

    Filings in federal court show the Costa Rican government saying Abrego Garcia would be welcomed as a legal immigrant and wouldn’t face detention.

    In a statement, Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said the criminal charges underscore how Abrego Garcia presents a “clear danger” and that he can either plead guilty or stand trial.

    “Either way, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the American people,” Gilmartin said.

    Abrego Garcia’s case became a flash point in President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, despite a judge’s earlier determination that he faced a “well-founded fear” of violence there. Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the United States in June, only to detain him on human smuggling charges.

    He pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming that it is an attempt to punish him for challenging his deportation to El Salvador. The Saturday filing came as a supplement to that motion to dismiss, stating that the threat to deport him to Uganda is more proof that the prosecution is vindictive.

    The smuggling charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding. There were nine passengers in the car, and officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

    Abrego Garcia has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years. Although he was deemed eligible for pretrial release last month, he remained in jail at the request of his attorneys, who feared the Republican administration could try to immediately deport him again if he were freed.

    A recent ruling in a separate case in Maryland required ICE to provide 72 hours’ notice before initiating deportation proceedings — time to allow a prospective deportee to mount a defense. An email from ICE sent to attorneys at 4:01 p.m. on Friday refers to that decision.

    “Please let this email serve as notice that DHS may remove your client, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, to Uganda no earlier than 72 hours from now (absent weekends),” it states. Uganda recently agreed to take deportees from the U.S., provided they do not have criminal records and are not unaccompanied minors.

    Federal officials have argued that Abrego Garcia can be deported because he came to the U.S. illegally and because a U.S. immigration judge deemed him eligible for expulsion in 2019, just not to his native El Salvador.

    Copyright
    © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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  • ‘Truly, it’s bittersweet’: Kilmar Albrego Garcia family reunited but facing uncertainty – WTOP News

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    After 160 days of separation, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was finally reunited with his wife, children and family Friday — but the joy is clouded by the looming threat of deportation

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia hugs his youngest son, with his wife Jennifer to his right.
    (Courtesy CASA)

    After 160 days of separation, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was finally reunited with his wife, children and family Friday — but the joy is clouded by the looming threat of deportation.

    Abrego Garcia was released from custody in Tennessee, allowing him to return home to Maryland.

    But on Saturday, immigration officials said they intend to deport him to Uganda after he declined an offer to be sent to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges, according to a court filing.

    Jossie Flor Sapunar of CASA, which has been providing legal assistance to Garcia and his family, described the moment as “bittersweet.”

    Garcia is “hugging and kissing his little kids, which is beautiful,” she told WTOP, but warned that “at any time, he could be grabbed by ICE and disappeared again to another country.”

    “The joy is here, but it’s agonizing knowing he faces that deportation threat,” she said in an interview.

    According to Sapunar, the Trump administration had signaled potential plans to deport Garcia on Friday, adding that federal officials appear determined to “cover up their error in sending him out of the country by mistake.”

    “Unfortunately, nothing we have seen so far gives us the lasting optimism that Kilmar’s reunification with his family will be permanent,” she said.

    Despite the uncertainty, Sapunar credited “pure, relentless activism” for Garcia’s temporary return.

    “Everyday people fighting for Kilmar to be a household name” helped pressure officials into allowing his reunification, she said. CASA and supporters plan to continue the campaign to “keep Kilmar home.”

    For now, the family is focused on reclaiming lost time — birthdays, anniversaries and everyday moments they missed during Garcia’s absence. “No moment will be wasted,” Sapunar said, though she acknowledged the “dark cloud” of possible deportation still hangs over them.

    “Truly, it’s bittersweet,” she said.

    The legal fight continues as Garcia awaits further court proceedings.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • US seeks to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he refuses plea offer

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    Immigration officials said they intend to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda, after he declined an offer to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges, according to a Saturday court filing.The Costa Rica offer came late Thursday, after it was clear that the Salvadoran national would likely be released from a Tennessee jail the following day. Abrego Garcia declined to extend his stay in jail and was released on Friday to await trial in Maryland with his family. Later that day, the Department of Homeland Security notified his attorneys that he would be deported to Uganda and should report to immigration authorities on Monday.His attorneys declined to comment on whether the plea offer had been formally rescinded. The brief they filed only said that Abrego Garcia had declined one part of the offer — to remain in jail — and that his attorneys would “communicate the government’s proposal to Mr. Abrego.”Abrego Garcia’s case became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda after he was mistakenly deported in March. Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June, only to detain him on human smuggling charges.He has pleaded not guilty and has asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming that it is an attempt to punish him for challenging his deportation to El Salvador. The Saturday filing came as a supplement to that motion to dismiss, stating that the threat to deport him to Uganda is more proof that the prosecution is vindictive.“The government immediately responded to Mr. Abrego’s release with outrage,” the filing reads. “Despite having requested and received assurances from the government of Costa Rica that Mr. Abrego would be accepted there, within minutes of his release from pretrial custody, an ICE representative informed Mr. Abrego’s counsel that the government intended to deport Mr. Abrego to Uganda and ordered him to report to ICE’s Baltimore Field Office Monday morning.”Although Abrego Garcia was deemed eligible for pretrial release, he had remained in jail at the request of his attorneys, who feared the Republican administration could try to immediately deport him again if he were freed. Those fears were somewhat allayed by a recent ruling in a separate case in Maryland, which requires immigration officials to allow Abrego Garcia time to mount a defense.

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. —

    Immigration officials said they intend to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda, after he declined an offer to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges, according to a Saturday court filing.

    The Costa Rica offer came late Thursday, after it was clear that the Salvadoran national would likely be released from a Tennessee jail the following day. Abrego Garcia declined to extend his stay in jail and was released on Friday to await trial in Maryland with his family. Later that day, the Department of Homeland Security notified his attorneys that he would be deported to Uganda and should report to immigration authorities on Monday.

    His attorneys declined to comment on whether the plea offer had been formally rescinded. The brief they filed only said that Abrego Garcia had declined one part of the offer — to remain in jail — and that his attorneys would “communicate the government’s proposal to Mr. Abrego.”

    Abrego Garcia’s case became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda after he was mistakenly deported in March. Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June, only to detain him on human smuggling charges.

    He has pleaded not guilty and has asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming that it is an attempt to punish him for challenging his deportation to El Salvador. The Saturday filing came as a supplement to that motion to dismiss, stating that the threat to deport him to Uganda is more proof that the prosecution is vindictive.

    “The government immediately responded to Mr. Abrego’s release with outrage,” the filing reads. “Despite having requested and received assurances from the government of Costa Rica that Mr. Abrego would be accepted there, within minutes of his release from pretrial custody, an ICE representative informed Mr. Abrego’s counsel that the government intended to deport Mr. Abrego to Uganda and ordered him to report to ICE’s Baltimore Field Office Monday morning.”

    Although Abrego Garcia was deemed eligible for pretrial release, he had remained in jail at the request of his attorneys, who feared the Republican administration could try to immediately deport him again if he were freed. Those fears were somewhat allayed by a recent ruling in a separate case in Maryland, which requires immigration officials to allow Abrego Garcia time to mount a defense.

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from federal custody in Tennessee

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    Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from criminal custody in Tennessee, but the Trump administration has signaled that it still wants to remove him from the country after illegally sending him to El Salvador in March, where he was held in that country’s notorious terrorism prison without having been charged with or convicted of any crime. After his release in Tennessee, Abrego is set to travel to Maryland, where he was living before his removal in March.

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia could be sent to Uganda, DHS official says

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    Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year. He was released from pre-trial detention on Friday, and a senior Department of Homeland Security official said he could be deported to Uganda. CBS News immigration and politics reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez has the details.

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia is freed from Tennessee jail so he can rejoin family in Maryland to await trial – WTOP News

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    Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from jail in Tennessee on Friday so he can rejoin his family in Maryland while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges.

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from jail in Tennessee on Friday so he can rejoin his family in Maryland while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges.

    The Salvadoran national’s case became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda after he was mistakenly deported in March. Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June, only to detain him on criminal charges.

    Although Abrego Garcia was deemed eligible for pretrial release, he had remained in jail at the request of his attorneys, who feared the Republican administration could try to immediately deport him again if he were freed. Those fears were somewhat allayed by a recent ruling in a separate case in Maryland, which requires immigration officials to allow Abrego Garcia time to mount a challenge to any deportation order.

    On Friday, Abrego Garcia walked out of the Putnam County jail wearing a short-sleeved white button-down shirt and black pants and accompanied by defense attorney Rascoe Dean. They did not speak to reporters but got into a white SUV and sped off.

    The release order from the Tennessee court requires Abrego Garcia to travel directly to Maryland, where he will be in home detention with his brother designated as his custodian. He is required to submit to electronic monitoring and can only leave the home for work, religious services and other approved activities.

    An attorney for Abrego Garcia in his deportation case in Maryland, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said in a statement Friday his client had been “reunited with his loving family” for the first time since he was wrongfully deported to a notorious El Salvador prison in March.

    “While his release brings some relief, we all know that he is far from safe,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “ICE detention or deportation to an unknown third country still threaten to tear his family apart.”

    Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem slammed the decision to free Abrego Garcia.

    “Activist liberal judges have attempted to obstruct our law enforcement every step of the way in removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country,” Noem said in a statement. She called ordering his release a “new low” by a “publicity hungry Maryland judge,” apparently referring to the judge overseeing his original deportation case rather than the Tennessee judge who ordered him freed.

    “We will not stop fighting till this Salvadoran man faces justice and is OUT of our country,” Noem said.

    Earlier this week, Abrego Garcia’s criminal attorneys filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the smuggling case, claiming he is being prosecuted to punish him for challenging his removal to El Salvador.

    In a statement Friday, defense attorney Sean Hecker called the charges a “vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the Administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law.”

    Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, which stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding. Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows a calm exchange with Abrego Garcia. There were nine passengers in the car, and the officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. However, Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

    A Department of Homeland Security agent testified he did not begin investigating the traffic stop until this April, when the government was facing mounting pressure to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.

    Abrego Garcia has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the U.S. illegally. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador, where he faces a “well-founded fear” of violence, according to court filings. He was required to check in yearly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement while Homeland Security issued him a work permit.

    Although Abrego Garcia can’t be deported to El Salvador without violating the judge’s order, Homeland Security officials have said they plan to deport him to an unnamed third country.

    Copyright
    © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

    APTOPIX Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Kilmar Abrego Garcia, center, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

    AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Kilmar Abrego Garcia , second right, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

    AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Kilmar Abrego Garcia , second right, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

    AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Kilmar Abrego Garcia, third from right, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

    AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Kilmar Abrego Garcia, fourth from right, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

    AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia Kilmar Abrego Garcia, third from left, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

    AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia The Putnam County Justice Center is pictured, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

    AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from detention, returning to Maryland after reuniting with family

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    Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from detention



    Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from jail, plans to return to Maryland before trial

    04:04

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from Putnam County Jail in Tennessee on Friday and has been reunited with his family while he awaits trial, according to his attorney. 

    It’s the latest development in the case of a man who was mistakenly removed from the U.S. to an El Salvador prison where he alleges he was tortured. Initially detained by immigration officials in March before being sent to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S. in June to face criminal charges that were filed in Tennessee. The Justice Department has accused him of smuggling and gang membership, allegations his family denies. He pleaded not guilty to two criminal counts of human smuggling last month.

    “For the first time since March, our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia is reunited with his loving family,” attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “While his release brings some relief, we all know that he is far from safe. ICE detention or deportation to an unknown third country still threatens to tear his family apart. A measure of justice has been done, but the government must stop pursuing actions that would once again separate this family.”

    Deportation Error Abrego Garcia

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia, center, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn.

    Brett Carlsen / AP


    A federal magistrate had ordered Abrego Garcia to be released from jail while he awaits trial, currently scheduled for January. He is expected to have to wear an electronic monitoring device. 

    Abrego Garcia’s lawyers requested a delay of his release from jail in Tennessee earlier this summer, fearing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could immediately detain him and try to deport him again. Last month, a federal judge in Maryland ruled that the government must return Abrego Garcia to supervised release under the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore, re-implementing a 2019 order. 

    Under that supervision order, issued in 2019, Abrego Garcia, who is Salvadoran, had permission to live in Maryland, as well as authorization to work. He was required to check in with an immigration officer at the ICE office in Baltimore. Court filings indicate Abrego Garcia was in compliance with the ICE supervision order when he was deported to El Salvador. The judge also ruled that Abrego Garcia must receive 72 hours’ notice if the Trump administration plans to deport him anywhere other than his country of origin, El Salvador.  

    Joe Walsh,

    Melissa Quinn and

    Jacob Rosen

    contributed to this report.

    Kathryn Watson

    Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.

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  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from detention, returning to Maryland

    [ad_1]

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from Putnam County Jail in Tennessee on Friday and has been reunited with his family while he awaits trial, according to his attorney.

    It’s the latest development in the case of a man who was mistakenly removed from the U.S. to an El Salvador prison where he alleges he was tortured. Initially detained by immigration officials in March before being sent to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S. in June to face criminal charges that were filed in Tennessee. The Justice Department has accused him of smuggling and gang membership, allegations his family denies. He pleaded not guilty to two criminal counts of human smuggling last month.

    “For the first time since March, our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia is reunited with his loving family,” attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “While his release brings some relief, we all know that he is far from safe. ICE detention or deportation to an unknown third country still threatens to tear his family apart. A measure of justice has been done, but the government must stop pursuing actions that would once again separate this family.”

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia, center, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn. / Credit: Brett Carlsen / AP

    A federal magistrate had ordered Abrego Garcia to be released from jail while he awaits trial, currently scheduled for January. He is expected to have to wear an electronic monitoring device.

    Abrego Garcia’s lawyers requested a delay of his release from jail in Tennessee earlier this summer, fearing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could immediately detain him and try to deport him again. Last month, a federal judge in Maryland ruled that the government must return Abrego Garcia to supervised release under the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore, re-implementing a 2019 order.

    Under that supervision order, issued in 2019, Abrego Garcia, who is Salvadoran, had permission to live in Maryland, as well as authorization to work. He was required to check in with an immigration officer at the ICE office in Baltimore. Court filings indicate Abrego Garcia was in compliance with the ICE supervision order when he was deported to El Salvador. The judge also ruled that Abrego Garcia must receive 72 hours’ notice if the Trump administration plans to deport him anywhere other than his country of origin, El Salvador.

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