Kilmar Abrego Garcia expects to be detained by ICE again, attorney says

The attorney for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongfully deported to a notorious El Salvadoran prison and later returned to the U.S., said he expects him to be detained by immigration officials again on Monday.

Abrego Garcia, who was released from criminal custody in Tennessee on Friday while he awaits federal trial, has been told to report to an ICE detention center in Baltimore on Monday, attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said during an interview with All Things Considered that aired on Sunday.

“I don’t see any need for ICE to detain him. They’ve got him right now,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said, saying that Abrego Garcia is being monitored electronically by the U.S. Marshals Service through a GPS ankle bracelet. “But that said, I expect that ICE will take him into detention because, well, pretty much that’s what they do. They have said they’re going to try to deport him.”

After Abrego Garcia was released Friday, immigration officials notified his attorneys that they plan to deport him to Uganda after he rejected a plea deal to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty to smuggling charges and remaining in jail, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said in a court filing on Saturday.

His attorneys also believe the move is designed to push Abrego Garcia into a guilty plea, with Uganda being used as “a means of punishment.” Sandoval-Moshenberg said no assurances have been given about Uganda, and while they are concerned about what his living conditions would be in the country, they are also concerned it is a way to ultimately send Abrego Garcia back to El Salvador.

“If Uganda is going to deport him right back to El Salvador, whether, you know, the next day, the next month, or even in a few months, that’s just as illegal as it would be for them to send him straight to El Salvador for a second time,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said.

Abrego Garcia was born in El Salvador but had been living in Maryland.

ICE did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.

Abrego Garcia was happy to be back with his family and friends over the weekend, even if for a short time, Sandoval-Moshenberg said.

“He arrived in Maryland at around 3 in the morning on Saturday. His whole family, including his 5-year-old child, were still awake, waiting to receive him. He’s, you know, he’s really happy to be back with his family, with his friends, but it could prove to be a short-lived reprieve.”

Henry Larson, Sarah Robbins and Elena Burnett produced and edited the audio interview.