Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation

Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from prison in Tennessee

(Image credit: AP Photo / Brett Carlsen)

What happened

Kilmar Abrego García, the best-known migrant wrongly deported to El Salvador early in President Donald Trump's mass deportation push, was released from prison in Tennessee on Friday and spent the weekend at home with his family in Maryland. But his lawyers said they expect him to be detained again at an ICE check-in today and, barring a court order, deported to Uganda as soon as Wednesday.

Who said what

Abrego's lawyers said in a court filing Saturday that the Justice Department had offered him plea deal in which he would be deported to Costa Rica if he agreed to stay in prison, plead guilty to federal human trafficking charges he denies and serve a sentence in the U.S. Abrego declined, and minutes after he was released on a judge's order, ICE notified his lawyers he may be sent to Uganda.

The Justice Department and Homeland Security Department are "using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat," the lawyers wrote, calling the prosecution selective and "vindictive." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday she "will not stop fighting till this Salvadoran man faces justice and is OUT of our country."

What next?

There is "little stopping the administration" from sending Abrego to any country but El Salvador that has "agreed to accept immigrants expelled from the U.S.," The Wall Street Journal said. If he takes the plea deal this morning, Abrego faces "up to 10 years in federal prison" before being freed to Costa Rica, NBC News said.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.