FROM FOX NEWS: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadorian migrant whose months-long court fight has emerged as a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, will report Monday to the ICE Field Office in Baltimore, where he is expected to be arrested and deported to Uganda, his attorneys told Fox News Digital.
The news caps an extraordinary, six-month court battle over Abrego Garcia’s legal status that has spanned two continents, touched off dozens of lengthy court hearings, and involved three federal judges in Tennessee and Maryland.
The Department of Justice has said Abrego Garcia is a member of the El Salvadoran gang MS-13, was caught in Tennessee allegedly driving a van full of illegal migrants, and has been accused by his wife of beating her. His supporters have painted him as a hard-working father who has been vilified by the Trump administration, and have pointed to a judge’s ruling that said the government failed to provide sufficient evidence that he is a member of MS-13.
Now, Abrego Garcia is slated for deportation to a third country, after an immigration judge ruled he could not be sent back to his homeland because he faced danger there.
Abrego Garcia was released from federal custody on parole Friday. He had been deported to El Salvador in March, but returned to the U.S. to face the human smuggling charges. Minutes after his release, immigration authorities notified him that he would be deported to Uganda. The government then offered the undocumented immigrant a plea deal, with deportation to Costa Rica as an alternative to “rendition to Uganda” in exchange for a guilty plea to the human smuggling charges.
Abrego Garcia declined the offer.
His attorneys argue that the Trump administration’s actions constitute “vindictive” and selective prosecution.
DHS and ICE officials are frustrated with Abrego Garcia’s release and are consulting with the Justice Department on removal options. On Friday night, the government told him that he has until “first thing” Monday morning to accept a plea in exchange for deportation to Costa Rica, “or else that offer will be off the table forever,” Abrego’s attorneys revealed.
CASA, an immigrant advocacy group held a vigil to show support for Abrego Garcia and his family, as he is set to present himself at the ICE facility in Baltimore on Monday for a check-in as part of the conditions of his parole.
The ICE check-in is a typically a brief meeting with an officer to review case status, provide updates, and confirm where he is living, then he would be released until the next check-in.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys told NBC News “they expect he will be taken into ICE custody during the check-in, given the Trump administration’s notice of its intention to deport him.”
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