24 DAILY NEWS – The Trump administration’s efforts to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia continue, sparking legal challenges and raising human rights concerns.
The Trump administration announced Monday it was processing Kilmar Abrego Garcia for expulsion to Uganda, threatening to banish him to the United States’ growing network of deportee dumping grounds for the second time.
Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, was erroneously deported to his home country in March and held in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, becoming the face of President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation regime. After the Trump administration spent months claiming falsely that Abrego Garcia could not be recovered from El Salvador’s custody, he was returned to the U.S. in June and jailed on federal human smuggling charges. A judge ruled that he should be released from detention ahead of a trial set for January.
Abrego Garcia was freed from pretrial detention last Friday. His attorneys were sent a court-required notice of his potential deportation to Uganda on Saturday. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X Monday morning that ICE had arrested Abrego Garcia, and DHS said in a statement that he was “being processed for removal to Uganda.” On Monday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Abrego Garcia’s removal from the United States.
DHS did not reply to The Intercept’s request for additional information prior to publication.
“Numerous agencies of the U.S. government have been tasked with trying to get rid of Mr. Abrego and to cover up the administration’s mistake in sending him to El Salvador,” said Yael Schacher, the director for the Americas and Europe at Refugees International. “In its punitive approach to deportation, the administration undercuts the whole premise of civil immigration law; in its transactional dealings with third countries, it undermines human rights and the protection of refugees worldwide.”
The United States is pursuing deals with around a third of the world’s nations to expel immigrants to places where they do not hold citizenship. Once exiled, these third-country nationals are sometimes detained, imprisoned, or in danger of being sent back to their countries of origin — which they may have fled to escape violence, torture, or political persecution.
The nations that the Trump administration is collaborating with to accept these expelled immigrants are some of the worst human rights offenders on the planet.
The Trump administration has expelled more than 8,100 people in this manner since January 20, and the U.S. has made arrangements to send people to at least 14 nations, so far, across the globe. Of them, 13 have previously been cited by the State Department for significant human rights abuses.
The State Department recently sanitized its annual human rights reports, whitewashing the records of some of the world’s most notorious nations. Even this year’s stripped-down report paints Uganda as a pariah state. “Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; [and] arbitrary arrest or detention,” among many other abuses, according to the new report issued this month.
Uganda is a relatively new addition to the Trump administration’s global gulag for expelled immigrants: The country reached an agreement with the U.S. to accept some deportees last week. In total, the Trump administration has solicited 64 nations to participate. Fifty-eight of them — roughly 91 percent — were rebuked for human rights violations in the State Department’s past human rights reports.
The Trump administration has sought, or struck deals with, or deported third-country nationals to Angola, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Libya, Kosovo, Malawi, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; these 58 were previously taken to task by the State Department for significant human rights abuses. Tuvalu and Santa Lucia were also cited in the report for having repressive laws on paper but were not found to enforce them in practice. Only four of the 64 total nations solicited by the Trump administration— Antigua and Barbuda, Cabo Verde, Costa Rica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis — received a clean bill of human rights health from the State Department in the past.
To justify Abrego Garcia’s second attempted expulsion, the Department of Homeland Security claims he is a member of MS-13, a gang that’s known for its prominence in El Salvador but originated in Los Angeles. His family denies the government’s allegations.
“President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer,” Noem said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., condemned the administration’s move in a comment to The Intercept.
“Instead of offering safety, this administration is tearing families apart and sending people to countries they have no ties to. There is nothing just about this process. It is ICE using its power to punish and cover up its mistakes,” Omar said. “What we are witnessing is the government being weaponized against vulnerable people, and it is disgraceful. We need an immigration system that treats people with dignity, not one that destroys lives for political gain.”
The White House did not reply to a request for comment.
Update: August 25, 2025, 6:17 pm ET
This story has been updated with a development in Abrego Garcia’s case and comments from Yael Schacher of Refugees International and Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Abrego Garcia’s Case: A Thorny Legal Battle
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, has become a focal point in the debate over the Trump administration’s deportation policies. As previously reported by 24 DAILY NEWS, Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March and held at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
The Deportation and Detention
Following his return to the U.S. in June, Abrego Garcia faced federal human smuggling charges. Despite a judge’s ruling for his release pending trial, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced his arrest and processing for removal to Uganda, as 24 DAILY NEWS reported on Monday. A federal judge has temporarily blocked that removal order.
Legal and Ethical Concerns
Yael Schacher of Refugees International criticized the administration’s approach, stating, “Numerous agencies of the U.S. government have been tasked with trying to get rid of Mr. Abrego and to cover up the administration’s mistake.” Schacher argued that such punitive measures undermine civil immigration law and human rights considerations.
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Third-Country Deportation Agreements
The U.S. is engaging with numerous nations to deport immigrants to countries where they lack citizenship. According to 24 DAILY NEWS investigations, these nations often have concerning human rights records.
Controversy and Reaction
The Trump administration claims Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, allegations his family denies. Rep. Ilhan Omar condemned the administration’s actions, asserting that the government is being weaponized against vulnerable people.
