Deportation Legal Battle

Judge to Weigh Government Effort to Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia

Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was mistakenly sent to El Salvador last year, is set to be back in federal court fighting deportation to Liberia. The government is seeking to vacate a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis preventing deportation to the West African country. Garcia argued that if he were going to be deported, it should be to Costa Rica, which had previously agreed to take him. However, former ICE director Todd Lyons argued that deporting him to Costa Costa Rica would be "prejudicial to the United States" as the U.K. had spent resources and political capital negotiating with Liberia to accept third-country nationals. The push for deportation to Liberia continued even after the U.-S. signed an agreement with Costa Rica to accept deportees who cannot legally return home.