Kilmar Abrego Garcia wants to seek asylum in the U.S., his lawyer revealed Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Salvadoran was arrested in Baltimore on Monday after being released from a Tennessee jail. Federal officials insist he is linked to the violent MS-13 gang, an accusation he denies.
His lawyers argued at a scheduled hearing on Wednesday that he faces persecution and torture if deported to Uganda, and that he has the right to reopen his asylum case. (RELATED: Authorities Arrest Kilmar Abrego Garcia At Immigration Appointment)
This case has become a political flashpoint in the broader debate over immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s second term.
In a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, a state highway patrol officer pulled over Abrego’s vehicle, which was carrying nine passengers allegedly bound for a construction job in Maryland. The Department of Homeland Security says the stop supports its smuggling charges, but the officer only issued a warning. The footage remained dormant until April 2025 — after his deportation was challenged.
His attorneys also accuse the government of “forum shopping” — trying to deport him anywhere that will take him, regardless of his connections or legal standing. (RELATED: Trump Admin Moves To Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia To Uganda After Failed Plea Deal)
Federal officials are seeking to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda, after he declined a plea deal that would have required him to stay in jail and admit guilt to human smuggling charges.
The proposed plea agreement, floated late Thursday, reportedly offered resettlement in Costa Rica in exchange for Abrego Garcia’s guilty plea and continued detention. When he refused the jail condition, he was released from a Tennessee detention facility on Friday — and within hours, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) informed his attorneys of a new plan: deportation to Uganda.
According to a court filing submitted Saturday by Abrego Garcia’s legal team, the federal government is pursuing a “vindictive” prosecution after it was forced by court order to return him to the United States earlier this year.
“The government immediately responded to Mr. Abrego’s release with outrage,” the filing states.
“Within minutes… an ICE representative informed Mr. Abrego’s counsel that the government intended to deport Mr. Abrego to Uganda and ordered him to report to ICE’s Baltimore Field Office Monday morning.”
Immigration advocacy groups have called the prosecution politically motivated. The Trump administration says it’s focused on keeping dangerous individuals out of U.S. communities. (RELATED: Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Deportation Of Kilmar Abrego Garcia)
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“perhaps” if he were to turn state’s witness and divulge where he deposited that car load o “immigrants” he was transporting back in the day – and identify the coyotes involved in that particular smuggling ring he “might” deserve a bit of leniency. NAH with his track record he needs to be kicked out of our Republic post haste, IF any country will actually take him.
Nobody knows forum shopping like a left wing lawyer.