Liberia agrees to accept man at centre of US deportation row
## Deportation Proceedings of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Deportation Proceedings of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
New documents filed in US federal court indicate that Liberia is willing to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he is deported from the United States. Previously, Uganda, Ghana, and Eswatini declined to accept him.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in violation of a settlement agreement. He returned to the US in June after the Supreme Court mandated his return. Unable to deport him back to El Salvador, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been attempting to deport him to various African countries.
A federal judge in Maryland has previously prohibited his immediate deportation. In Maryland, Abrego Garcia has filed a lawsuit alleging that the Trump administration is using the deportation process as a punitive measure for the embarrassment caused by his earlier mistaken deportation.
New documents filed in US federal court indicate that Liberia is willing to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he is deported from the United States.
According to a court filing from the Department of Homeland Security on Friday, Liberia is described as a "thriving democracy" and a close partner of the United States on the African continent. The filing highlights Liberia's English language use, constitutional protections for human rights, and commitment to humane refugee treatment. The filing suggests that Abrego Garcia could be deported as soon as Tue, Oct 31, 2023.
Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg has stated that after failed attempts with Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia, a country with which he has no connections. Costa Rica has offered to accept him as a refugee, but the US government has chosen a different course. Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years. He immigrated illegally to the US as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador due to a credible fear of violence from a gang targeting his family.
Abrego Garcia is also facing criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has filed a motion to dismiss these charges, alleging that the prosecution is vindictive.
Based on reporting by Africanews.
