New court filings reveal that the Trump administration is threatening to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda \u2014 a move his attorneys describe as coercive. Abrego, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year, declined a plea deal tied to human smuggling charges. In response, prosecutors withdrew an offer that would have allowed him to enter Costa Rica \u2014 a safe, Spanish-speaking country where he’d face no detention after serving time \u2014 and instead pursued deportation to Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His attorneys argue immigration authorities are essentially offering a forced choice: accept guilt and a path to Costa Rica, or refuse and risk being sent to Uganda, where his safety \u2014 and legal protections \u2014 are uncertain at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As The Hill<\/em> reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal prosecutors on Thursday offered Abrego Garcia the option to \u201clive freely\u201d with refugee or residency status in Costa Rica after serving prison time for\u00a0federal human smuggling charges<\/a>\u00a0in exchange for a guilty plea, per his lawyers in the Saturday filings.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Abrego Garcia, who was\u00a0mistakenly deported<\/a>\u00a0to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador, declined the offer on Friday\u00a0to instead return<\/a>\u00a0to his family in Maryland. He had been imprisoned in a Tennessee jail.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n After his return to Maryland, Abrego Garcia\u2019s attorneys were notified later in the day that he must report to an Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) field office in Baltimore on Monday \u2014 and that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to deport him to Uganda.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe only thing that happened between Thursday\u2014Costa Rica\u2014and Friday\u2014Uganda\u2014 was Mr. Abrego\u2019s exercise of his legal entitlement to release under the Bail Reform Act and the Fifth Amendment\u2026,\u201d Abrego Garcia\u2019s defense team wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Saturday’s revelations mark a significant escalation, as Uganda recently entered into a U.S. agreement to accept third-country deportees\u2014 but explicitly excluding individuals with criminal records or unaccompanied minors. Abrego\u2019s legal team contends that his criminal charges make such deportation both inappropriate and potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n READ NEXT: Dem Forced To Eat Words After Defending Alleged Criminal<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n