Liberia agrees to accept wrongly deported migrant Abrego Garcia, US says

WASHINGTON/MONROVIA - Donald Trump’s administration said on Oct 24 it has reached an agreement with Liberia to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant whose

wrongful deportation to El Salvador

in March became a flashpoint in the Republican president’s immigration crackdown.

The Justice Department said in a court filing that Abrego Garcia could be deported to the African country as soon as Oct 31.

Maryland-based US District Judge Paula Xinis has temporarily blocked the US government from deporting Abrego Garcia while she considers his bid to be released from immigration detention. It is unclear how the administration’s agreement with Liberia will influence the judge’s decision.

Abrego Garcia also could seek to challenge his removal by claiming fear of torture or persecution. 

Liberia said it agreed to take Abrego Garcia “on a strictly humanitarian and temporary basis” following a request from the United States. Liberia’s information ministry said in a statement that it would ensure that Abrego Garcia is not removed to “any country where he may face substantial risk of persecution, torture or other serious harm.”

Liberia is the first country in Africa to agree to accept Abrego Garcia after the administration unsuccessfully floated Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana as options for a potential second deportation. 

Abrego Garcia, a sheet metal worker who entered the United States illegally, had been living in Maryland with his wife, their child and two of her children - all of whom are American citizens - when he was arrested and sent to his native El Salvador.

He was deported to El Salvador, where he spent time in a mega-prison known for its harsh conditions, in violation of a prior US court order. 

Abrego Garcia was sent back to the US in June, and Mr Trump’s Justice Department brought criminal charges accusing him of smuggling migrants. He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have accused the administration of vindictive prosecution. The administration also has said Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, an accusation his lawyers deny.

A lawyer for Abrego Garcia, Mr Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said Abrego Garcia has no personal connection to Liberia, and added that the country is far from his wife and children in Maryland.

“The government has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship,” Mr Sandoval-Moshenberg said in a statement. “Their actions are punitive, cruel and unconstitutional.”

His lawyers in the past have accused the administration of violating Abrego Garcia’s rights to due process under the US Constitution. 

A deportation in the coming days could also impact a court hearing in his criminal case scheduled for Nov 4 and 5 in Nashville, Tennessee, that will examine whether Abrego Garcia was improperly charged in retaliation for his decision to bring a legal challenge to his March deportation. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have sought testimony from several Justice Department officials.

The administration vowed to remove Abrego Garcia again from the US after he was released from criminal custody in August. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have indicated a preference for Costa Rica, a Spanish-speaking country in Central America that has said it would take in Abrego Garcia, but the administration has so far not agreed to send him there.

The Justice Department highlighted Liberia’s historic ties to the US, its “humane treatment of refugees” and its “robust” human rights protections. A 2024 US State Department report flagged significant rights issues in the West African country, including extrajudicial killings.

Liberia was one of five African countries the Trump administration pressed in July to accept migrants being deported to countries other than their own. REUTERS