The U.S. government plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia and could do so as early as October 31, according to a recent court filing.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, has become a focal point of opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in violation of a settlement agreement. He was returned to the U.S. in June following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandated the administration to bring him back.
Since Abrego Garcia cannot be re-deported to El Salvador, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sought to deport him to a series of African countries. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Maryland has previously barred his immediate deportation.
Abrego Garcia’s lawsuit claims that the Trump administration is unlawfully using the deportation process to punish him for the embarrassment caused by his earlier mistaken deportation.
In a court filing on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security stated that “Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’s closest partners on the African continent.” The filing highlighted that Liberia’s national language is English, its constitution offers strong protections for human rights, and the country is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees.” The filing concluded that deportation could occur as soon as October 31.
However, attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, representing Abrego Garcia, criticized the government’s decision: “After failed attempts with Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to Liberia, a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland. Yet the government has chosen a course calculated to inflict maximum hardship. These actions are punitive, cruel, and unconstitutional.”
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years. He originally entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador due to a “well-founded fear” of violence from a gang that targeted his family, according to court records.
In a separate immigration court action, Abrego Garcia has applied for asylum in the United States.
Additionally, Abrego Garcia is facing federal criminal charges in Tennessee related to human smuggling, to which he has pleaded not guilty. He has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, alleging the prosecution is vindictive.
Originally published: October 24, 2025 at 2:12 PM CDT
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/24/abrego-garcia-deportation-plans/