Abrego Garcia Was Told to Pick Plea Deal or Uganda: Lawyers

He's been ordered to report to ICE on Monday for a last chance at deal
Posted Aug 23, 2025 12:21 PM CDT
Abrego Garcia Was Told to Pick Plea Deal or Uganda: Lawyers
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, fourth from right, leaves the Putnam County Jail, Friday in Cookeville, Tennessee.   (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

After declining the federal government's proposal that he plead guilty to human smuggling charges in exchange for deportation to Costa Rica, Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been threatened with being sent to Uganda, his lawyers said in a court filing Saturday. When the Salvadoran national declined the terms, which included remaining in jail, and was freed in Tennessee on Friday, the government "responded to Mr. Abrego's release with outrage," his lawyers wrote. Abrego Garcia, who has rejoined his family in Maryland, now has been ordered to report to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore on Monday for a last chance to take the plea deal, ABC News reports.

The brief includes a letter from Costa Rica's government saying that Abrego Garcia would be welcomed in the country as a legal immigrant once he'd served any sentence and wouldn't face detention, per the AP. Like El Salvador, Abrego Garcia's country of origin, and unlike Uganda, Costa Rica is a Spanish-speaking country. After the Trump administration took office, he was wrongfully deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, despite a 2019 court order that prohibited his removal to his home country due to fears of gang persecution. The order does not bar his deportation to a third country.

Abrego Garcia's attorneys said government agencies are using their power "to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat." A father of three, Abrego Garcia reunited with his family on Friday after being separated for about six months. Images released by advocates show him holding his son and expressing gratitude for the support he received during his detention, per NBC News. "We are steps closer to justice, but justice has not been fully served," he said in a statement.

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