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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Trump administration plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini | |
By Kaanita Iyer, Priscilla Alvarez, CNN | |
Updated: | |
10:47 PM EDT, Fri September 5, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
The Trump administration informed on Friday that it now plans to deport | |
him to the tiny African nation of Eswatini, as he continues to fight | |
efforts to re-deport him. | |
In an email to the Maryland man, which was obtained by CNN, an | |
Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said that given Abrego | |
Garcia’s concerns about being deported to several other countries, | |
they now seek to remove him to Eswatini. The Department of Homeland | |
Security previously notified Abrego Garcia of plans to , but he | |
objected to the removal, citing fears of being persecuted or tortured. | |
“That claim of fear is hard to take seriously, especially given that | |
you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or | |
torture in at least 22 different countries,” read the email, which | |
listed the countries, including his home country of El Salvador, where | |
he spent weeks in a notorious mega prison earlier this year after he | |
was mistakenly deported. | |
“Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal | |
is Eswatini, Africa,” the email added. | |
An ICE official confirmed that Abrego Garcia will be deported to | |
Eswatini, telling CNN, “TRUE: An immigration judge ordered him | |
removed and ICE will comply with that order.” | |
Abrego Garcia is currently in ICE custody after being brought back to | |
the US to face human smuggling charges, but the Trump administration is | |
trying to quickly deport him again, even before the trial concludes. | |
Last week, the federal judge overseeing Abrego Garcia’s case ruled | |
that he after Trump administration officials are expected to testify | |
about the government’s efforts to re-deport him. | |
Abrego Garcia has said he prefers to be sent to Costa Rica, a country | |
that has said it would be willing to give him some form of legal status | |
should he be sent there. | |
The administration previously offered to eventually deport Abrego | |
Garcia to Costa Rica in exchange for a guilty plea, his lawyers told | |
the judge overseeing his human trafficking case last month. However, | |
Abrego Garcia did not accept the offer, according to a source familiar | |
with his case. | |
— formerly known as Swaziland — is located in Southeast Africa and | |
is roughly the size of New Jersey. Governed by a monarch who has | |
absolute power, Eswatini is one of four African countries that have | |
struck a deal with the Trump administration to receive foreign | |
deportees, along with Rwanda, South Sudan and . | |
Abrego Garcia is also separately seeking to , a process that will play | |
out before an immigration judge within the Justice Department. | |
CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report. | |
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