Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran illegal immigrant mistakenly deported to his home country, was arrested Monday after surrendering to Immigration and Customs Enforcement ahead of a potential deportation to Uganda.
Abrego Garcia was arrested after surrendering at an ICE office in Baltimore days after he was released from jail while awaiting trial on federal charges related to transporting illegal immigrants inside the U.S. The Trump administration has floated the possibility of re-deporting him to Uganda before the trial begins.
“Today, ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation. President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement shared on X.
Uganda is an east African country where Abrego Garcia’s native language of Spanish is not used. The administration has proposed a plea deal where Garcia could go to Costa Rica and claim refugee status.
Garcia’s attorneys have already filed a habeas corpus petition in Maryland federal court to have a judge block his imminent deportation.
In March, the Trump administration sent Garcia to El Salvador despite a years-old court order instructing the federal government not to send him back to his home country because of the possibility of gang retaliation. Garcia could have been deported to any other country under the terms of the order.
He returned to the U.S. to face the criminal charges after his case received national attention and became a flashpoint in discussions about the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. His return followed a Supreme Court order instructing the Trump administration to “facilitate” his arrival back to the U.S.
Garcia spent several months in El Salvador’s notoriously brutal Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT, a facility meant to hold violent gang members. In court papers, Garcia has stated he was viciously beaten and the victim of “psychological torture” during his time in the Salvadoran prison.
The Trump administration has accused Garcia of being an MS-13 gang member, an allegation his attorneys have denied. As Garcia became the focus of national attention, court documents from his wife alleging domestic violence resurfaced after they were originally filed in 2020 and 2021.