A father-of-one who was wrongly deported to South America earlier this year following an 'oversight' by the Trump administration could be set for deportation to yet another country.
Back in March, Kilmar Ábrego García - originally from El Salvador - was suddenly arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who accused him of having a 'prominent role in MS-13', an international criminal gang set up in the 80s in a bid to protect Salvadoran immigrants.
He was imprisoned in El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), the country's notorious maximum security prison.
This was all despite García being granted protected status by an immigration judge in 2019, after he fled to the US a decade earlier, where he met, married and welcomed a son with his American wife.
Advert
Despite admitting to deporting him by accident, the Justice Department went on to claim it couldn't help in bringing García back to the States, insisting both that Trump's 'primacy in foreign affairs' outweighs the case in question, and that El Salvador cannot be compelled to return him.
Last week on 22 August, following several months of appeals, García was finally released from federal detention, where he's been since March. As we say, however, he could be moved again in the coming weeks, according to a new complaint filed by his lawyers.
The dad-of-one has since been charged with conspiring to transport illegal immigrants into the US as part of an indictment filed in federal court in Tennessee.
Advert
His lawyers also say that, whilst being told his charges, 29-year-old García was threatened by the ICE with further deportation to Uganda.
As per Sky News, the filing states that whilst being held at Putnam County Jail last week, the father was forced to reject an offer to be deported to Costa Rica.
In exchange, he pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges and, as such, remains in prison.
On the same day the Uganda threat was made, Donald Trump's administration reportedly 'informed Mr Ábrego that he has until first thing Monday morning - precisely when he must report to ICE's Baltimore Field Office - to accept a plea in exchange for deportation to Costa Rica, or else that offer will be off the table forever'.
Advert
A letter from the Costa Rican government was also filed alongside the brief, stating García would be welcomed to the country as a legal immigrant and wouldn't be detained.
In response to the filing, Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin insisted: "A federal grand jury has charged Ábrego García with serious federal crimes... underscoring the clear danger this defendant presents to the community.
"This defendant can plead guilty and accept responsibility or stand trial before a jury. Either way, we will hold Ábrego GarcÍa accountable and protect the American people."
Advert
Despite this, however, García's lawyers claimed they'd 'fight tooth and nail against any form of deportation to Uganda' or nearby countries in Africa.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg told press: "It is preposterous that they would send him to Africa, to a country where he doesn't even speak the language, a country with documented human rights violations, when there are so many other options.
"This family has suffered enough."
Advert
One of García's lifelines is a ruling given by US District Judge Paula Xinis in the days that followed, which barred the government from deporting him to Uganda or any other country until she could hold a hearing on the matter.
According to the BBC, the judgment was made on the grounds that the US has so far failed to demonstrate that García would not face harm if deported to Uganda.
"It is in my view plain that you can't do that," she declared. "You can't condition the relinquishment of constitutional rights in that regard.
"You'd never get a knowing and voluntary guilty plea out of anyone if you do that."
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News, World News
Rhianna Benson