The Trump administration has finalized plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 gang member, to Liberia — a country not originally listed among those he feared returning to — according to a court filing submitted Friday.
Abrego Garcia, who illegally entered the U.S. in 2011, had previously submitted a list of 20 countries he wished to avoid deportation to. Liberia was not among them. Justice Department lawyers noted in the filing that the U.S. has received “diplomatic assurances regarding the treatment of third country individuals” from Liberia and is moving forward with deportation arrangements, which could take place as soon as October 31.
Abrego Garcia was initially deported to El Salvador in June despite what the government later called an “administrative error.” He was brought back to the United States shortly thereafter on human smuggling charges.
A 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee shed light on those accusations. Police found Abrego Garcia in a vehicle with eight non-English-speaking passengers, none of whom had luggage or identification. Garcia’s expired license and the passengers’ status raised suspicions that he was transporting illegal migrants for profit. Still, he was released with a citation at the time.
In light of his prior deportation and MS-13 affiliation claims — which appear in both a 2018 court filing and a 2019 Maryland police report — the Trump administration began exploring options to deport him to a third country. Prior attempts to send him to Uganda and Costa Rica reportedly stalled.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Abrego Garcia’s attorney, blasted the plan to deport his client to Liberia as a deliberate effort to impose “maximum hardship.” He called the administration’s approach “punitive, cruel, and unconstitutional,” warning that without explicit assurances from Liberia that Abrego Garcia won’t be re-deported to El Salvador, the move remains legally questionable.
Despite previously obtaining a protective order against him in 2021 for alleged domestic violence, Abrego Garcia’s wife has since spoken out in his defense as deportation looms.
The Trump administration’s deal with Liberia marks a rare diplomatic maneuver, signaling the White House’s commitment to expelling high-risk individuals with suspected gang ties — even if it means deportation to third-party nations.
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