If the Trump administration were to succeed in deporting him to , Uganda, as it plans to do, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys told a judge on Wednesday that the 30-year-old fears persecution and torture.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who arrived in the United States at the age of 16, was once more detained on Monday as part of a contentious back-and-forth over whether or not he would be able to remain in the country.
Abrego Garcia made headlines in March when he was sent back to El Salvador, despite a court order preventing his deportation, which was in effect at the time.
The Trump administration initially acknowledged that the deportation was an “administrative error.” Brego Garcia had feared that if he was to be brought back to El Salvador, gang violence might be on the way.
The father of a Marylander, who is married to a US citizen, was one of the deported Americans who were sent to El Salvador’s maximum-security prison, the CECOT, which has a history of human rights violations.
His attorneys claim that he endured severe beatings and sleep deprivation while he was a prisoner.
He was allegedly outside the US’s purview before the Trump administration resisted returning him because of that.
Abrego Garcia was unreported in the first few days of June, just as the Trump administration began to charge him with human trafficking.
A 2022 traffic stop was used as evidence by the Trump administration to accuse Abrego Garcia of being a part of gang activity. A police officer who is present speculates about what they might be doing as Abrego Garcia is seen driving through Tennessee with a van full of people. At the time, however, no criminal charges were brought.
Although the tattoos he cited had the gang name “MS-13” superimposed on Abrego Garcia’s skin, Trump himself has cited them as proof of his criminal activity.
Abrego Garcia has denied having gang connections and entered a not-guilty plea to the smuggling charges.
After his case received criticism for Trump’s deportation policies, his attorneys have characterized the indictment as a “vindictive and selective prosecution” meant to discredit Abrego Garcia.
Additionally, they argued that the case of Abrego Garcia demonstrates the lack of deportees receiving fair treatment.
Following repeated delays, Abrego Garcia was released from a Tennessee jail on Friday. His legal team feared that if he were freed, the court would immediately be retributed, and they petitioned to keep him in jail for safety.
He was actually taken back into custody and scheduled for deportation to Uganda when he appeared to meet with immigration authorities on Monday.
While Abrego Garcia’s petition for her removal was being heard on the same day, a Maryland federal judge, Paula Xinis, temporarily halted her second deportation. In the case, hearings are scheduled for October.
According to a report from AFP’s news agency, the Trump administration had previously offered to send Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica instead of Uganda if he agreed to pay the human trafficking charges, but he refrained.
Source: Aljazeera
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