Kilmar Abrego Garcia surrendered to US immigration authorities in Baltimore on Monday and faces possible efforts by the Trump administration to deport him to Uganda, an African country with documented human rights abuses and a language he does not speak.
The Maryland construction worker became the face of US President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported in March to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador.
He was returned to the US in June, but only to face human smuggling charges that his lawyers call preposterous and vindictive.
The Trump administration has said it is trying to deport Abrego Garcia months before his trial is scheduled in Tennessee, alleging that the 30-year-old married father is a danger to the community and an MS-13 gang member.
He denies the gang allegation, pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges, and has asked a judge to dismiss the case on grounds of vindictive prosecution.
