US seeks court approval to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia
The U.S. government has asked a federal judge to lift an order blocking the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying all diplomatic and legal requirements have been met to send him to Liberia.
Government attorneys said in a filing on Friday that they received assurances from Liberian authorities that Abrego Garcia would not face persecution or torture if deported there. They also noted that an immigration officer reviewed his claims of fear and ruled against him, News.Az reports, citing ABC News.
Abrego Garcia’s legal team argues the move is retaliatory, claiming the administration is punishing him for successfully challenging his mistaken deportation to El Salvador earlier this year. His lawyers insist that he should instead be sent to Costa Rica, a country he previously designated as acceptable for deportation.
The case has drawn attention as a flashpoint in debates over immigration and due process rights. Abrego Garcia, who entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager from El Salvador, has lived in Maryland for years with his American wife and child.
In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador, but he was erroneously deported there in March — an action the government later described as an administrative error. He was brought back to the U.S. in June.
His attorneys argue that the government’s push to deport him to a third country violates his constitutional protections and that Liberia’s agreement to accept him is only temporary.
The government maintains that the assurances provided by Liberia are sufficient and that the court has no authority to second-guess the executive branch’s decisions on foreign diplomacy.
Abrego Garcia also faces human smuggling charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty. A hearing on his motion to dismiss the case is scheduled for December 8.
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