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In Maryland, Abrego Garcia has challenged efforts to re-deport
him to a third country after the government admitted that a
previous order prevents his deportation to his home country of
El Salvador. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said
recently that it plans to deport him to the southern African
country of Eswatini.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has ordered government officials
to testify Friday about what steps they have taken to remove
Abrego Garcia to Eswatini or any other country. His attorneys
have charged that the Republican administration is trying to
illegally use the immigration system to punish Abrego Garcia
after the embarrassment of his mistaken deportation.
Meanwhile, attorneys in criminal court in Tennessee have made
similar claims about human smuggling charges brought against
Abrego Garcia in June, on the same day he was returned to the
U.S. from El Salvador. The Tennessee judge has concluded that
Abrego Garcia's prosecution may be an illegal retaliation after
he successfully sued the Trump administration over his
deportation.
The smuggling charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in
Tennessee. He was not charged at the time, and agents did not
begin investigating the stop until earlier this year after
Abrego Garcia's wife sued over his deportation. The Friday
hearing will determine what types of documents Abrego Garcia's
attorneys can pursue in discovery to try to prove their
retaliation case.
Trump administration officials have waged a relentless public
relations campaign against Abrego Garcia, repeatedly referring
to him as a member of the MS-13 gang, among other things,
despite the fact that he has not been convicted of any crimes.
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