GREENBELT, Md. (AP) – A federal judge in Maryland sought assurances Monday that the government will not deport Kilmarn Abrego Garcia until it lifts an order barring his removal from the United States.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed notice late last week of their plan to deport him to the West African nation of Liberia as early as Friday. It is the latest of a number of African countries the agency has identified as possible destinations for the Salvadoran national.
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and lived in Maryland for many years, but immigrated to the United States illegally as a teenager. in 2019 an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation back to El Salvador, where he faces a “reasonable fear” of violence from a gang that has targeted his family. Earlier this year, his mistaken deportation to El Salvador, where he was held in a brutal prison despite having no criminal record, fueled opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Faced with mounting public pressure and a court ruling, the Trump administration returned him to the United States in June.
At a status conference Monday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis questioned why the government isn’t simply deporting Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica, a country he said he wants to go to because the government promised he would be accepted as a legal immigrant and not returned to El Salvador.
“Can you understand why we’re continuing this hearing when you could deport him to a third country tomorrow? Xinis asked government attorneys. She noted that both the government and Abrego Garcia “are going to burn a lot of resources” fighting over whether he can be legally deported to Liberia.
Attorneys for the government, including Deputy Attorney General Drew C. Ensign and Deputy Attorney General Jonathan Guynn, did not immediately respond but suggested it could be part of a future court case.
Meanwhile, attorneys said ICE is preparing to question Abrego Garcia after he filed a formal report expressing fear of being deported to Liberia. His lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told the judge that he had received some confidential documents related to assurances from the Liberian government about how Abrego Garcia would be treated there. But they are not satisfied with what they got. He suggested that the Liberian government had only agreed to host Abrego Garcia for a limited time.
The administration’s deportation deals with so-called third countries have been challenged in court by advocacy groups that argue they violate due process rights and send immigrants to countries with longstanding human rights abuses. But in June, a divided Supreme Court allowed immigrants to be deported quickly and with minimal warning to countries other than their homeland.
When Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States in June, he was charged with human smuggling in Tennessee. He pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case. A hearing on the impeachment motion is scheduled for next week, and Xinis pointed out that the government appeared ready to deport him shortly before then, saying his removal would be the end of the criminal case.
“It doesn’t pass the sniff test that there wasn’t some coordination,” Xinis said, noting that the criminal hearing was “publicly known.”
“If I don’t revoke the order, you follow it, and it won’t be removed? Is that true?” she asked the government’s lawyers. They agreed.
In a separate lawsuit in immigration court, Abrego Garcia sought asylum in the United States.