The federal government is trying to force Kilmar Abrego García to accept a statement of guilt or a deportation to Uganda, his lawyers claimed in a presentation on Saturday.
The Salvadoran man, who was mistakenly deported in March before being taken back to the United States to face human smuggling charges, was released from criminal custody in Tennessee and sent back to Maryland on Friday.
After Abrego García rejected the offer to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and declare himself guilty of the positions of human smuggling, his lawyers say that immigration and application of customs of the United States informed them that they could be deported to Uganda and ordered him to inform his office in Baltimore.
The lawyers said that the development occurred after the government said Thursday that if Abrego García agreed to extend the stay and declare himself guilty of both positions of the accusation, the government promised to deport Abrego García to Costa Rica.
Kilmar Abrego García, leaves the Putnam County prison on August 22, 2025, in Cookeville, Tenn.
Brett Carlsen/AP
ABC News reported for the first time that the Costa Rica government informed the United States Embassy on Thursday that the country would be willing to accept Abrego García “at the end of any criminal sentence he can comply with in the United States.”
But after Abrego García refused to extend the stay and was released on Friday, Abrego García’s lawyers claim that the government “responded to the release of Mr. Abrego with indignation.”
“Despite having requested and received guarantees from the Government of Costa Rica that Mr. Abrego would be accepted there, a few minutes after his release from prior to trial, a representative of ICE reported Mr. Abrego’s lawyer that the Government was intended to deport Mr. Abrego to Uganda and ordered him to inform the Baltimore field office of ICE on Monday,” said his lawyers.
On Friday night, after the launch of Abrego García, his lawyers said that DHS informed Abrego García that he has until the first Monday morning to accept a plea in exchange for deportation to Costa Rica, “or otherwise, that offer will be out of the table forever.”
“There can only be an interpretation of these events: the DOJ, the DHS and the ice are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty statement followed by relative security or an interpretation of Uganda, where their safety and freedom would be under threat,” said Abrego García’s lawyers.
The Secretary of National Security, Kristi Noem, criticized the launch of Abrego García on Friday, saying: “Today we reach a new minimum with this Maryland Hungry Advertising Judge that requires this illegal foreigner who is a member of the MS-13 gang, a trafficker of people, a series domestic abuser and children’s predator that is allowed for free.”
Abrego García’s trial in his case of human smuggling began on January 27, 2027.
