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Salvadoran man surrenders to ICE after release from custody, faces deportation risk

Kilmar Abrego Garcia had been released from custody in Tennessee last week after more than five months in detention, including time in a prison in El Salvador following his mistaken removal there in March.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, front left, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Kilmar Abrego Garciab. (AP)

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant whose wrongful deportation earlier this year drew international attention, surrendered to US immigration authorities in Baltimore on Monday as he again faces possible deportation, this time to Uganda or Costa Rica.

Abrego, 30, entered the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in downtown Baltimore shortly before his scheduled check-in, accompanied by his wife and a group of supporters chanting “Sí se puede” (“Yes we can”). He had been released from custody in Tennessee last week after more than five months in detention, including time in a prison in El Salvador following his mistaken removal there in March.

According to court filings cited by Reuters, US officials have offered to deport him to Costa Rica if he pleads guilty to charges of transporting migrants who were in the country illegally. If he does not plead guilty, he could instead be removed to Uganda, which his lawyers called “far more dangerous.”

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Abrego has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers told Reuters they are in plea discussions with the government but are also seeking dismissal of the charges, arguing he is the subject of “vindictive and selective” prosecution in retaliation for challenging his earlier deportation.

Also read | US seeks to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he refused to plea offer in smuggling case

Speaking at a rally before entering the ICE office, Abrego said through a translator, according to the Associated Press (AP): “This administration has hit us hard, but I want to tell you guys something: God is with us, and God will never leave us. God will bring justice to all the injustice we are suffering.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the government considers Abrego a dangerous criminal and immigration violator, describing him as a “monster” released by “activist liberal judges,” Reuters reported.

AP added that Abrego’s lawyers filed a lawsuit in federal court in Maryland shortly after his detention on Monday, asking a judge to block any deportation until he has the chance to contest it.

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