Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who recently reunited with his family after months of detention, is once again in ICE custody as US authorities are pushing for his deportation: this time to Uganda, a country where he has no known ties. His attorneys accused the United States government of using Uganda as leverage to coerce Abrego into accepting a plea deal related to human smuggling charges, which he has denied, NBC reported.
Why is Kilmar Abrego Garcia facing deportation?
Garcia, 30, fled El Salvador at age 16 to escape gang violence and settled in Maryland with his brother. He later started a family and worked in construction. In 2019, he was detained during a job search and turned over to immigration authorities. While a judge denied his asylum claim for late filing, he was granted protection from deportation to El Salvador because of gang threats, per The Guardian.
The report added that despite the ruling, the Trump administration mistakenly deported him to El Salvador in March 2025, where he was held in a maximum-security prison. The US later admitted the error and returned him in June. Soon after, he was charged in Tennessee for alleged human smuggling linked to a 2022 traffic stop, but he pleaded not guilty.
{{/usCountry}}The report added that despite the ruling, the Trump administration mistakenly deported him to El Salvador in March 2025, where he was held in a maximum-security prison. The US later admitted the error and returned him in June. Soon after, he was charged in Tennessee for alleged human smuggling linked to a 2022 traffic stop, but he pleaded not guilty.
{{/usCountry}}The controversial plea deal
Prior to his release from a Tennessee jail last week, prosecutors offered Abrego a deal: plead guilty and agree to deportation to Costa Rica, where he will receive refugee status, which he refused. Hours after his release, ICE informed his representatives that he would instead be deported to Uganda: a nation thousands of miles away with no cultural or personal connection to him.
His lawyers, while speaking to NBC, argued that this tactic amounted to “weaponizing of the immigration system” and violating due process. “What they’re trying to do here is punish him. They’re trying to use the deportation system, and where they planned to deport him as a means of punishing him for exercising his constitutional rights,” his lawyers were quoted. Several supporters have now taken to the streets to protest against ICE's ruling.
Uganda’s role
Documents showed the US recently signed temporary deportation agreements with Uganda, which included restrictions like not accepting people with criminal records. Uganda’s foreign ministry confirmed it would only accept transfers under specific conditions and preferred people from African countries, the BBC reported.
Abrego’s lawyers have filed an emergency lawsuit in Maryland seeking to block his removal until he receives a fair hearing, added NBC.
What happens next?
The NBC report stated Abrego was taken into custody by ICE on Monday after an immigration check-in in Baltimore. His legal team said the government gave him until Monday morning to accept the Costa Rica plea deal or lose the offer forever. A federal court will now decide whether he can stay in the US while fighting deportation
FAQs:
Q1: Why is Kilmar Ábrego García being deported to Uganda?
A: US authorities say he is subject to removal under a bilateral agreement. His lawyers argue it is a coercive tactic because he has no connection to Uganda.
Q2: Does Kilmar Ábrego García have any ties to Uganda?
A: No. He is from El Salvador and has never lived in or visited Uganda.
Q3: What plea deal did Ábrego García refuse before the Uganda deportation threat?
A: He refused to plead guilty to human smuggling charges in exchange for deportation to Costa Rica, where he would have been granted refugee status.
Q4: Is Kilmar Ábrego García a criminal?
A: He has no criminal record in the US or El Salvador. He is currently facing human smuggling charges, which he denies.