The Justice Department moved Friday to designate Liberia as the removal country for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the West African nation agreed to accept him and that deportation could occur as soon as Oct. 31, according to a federal court filing.
In a notice to a federal judge in Maryland, government lawyers told the court they have a new country willing to receive the illegal alien.
The filing states: "Although Petitioner has identified more than twenty countries that he purports to fear would persecute or torture him if he were removed there, Liberia is not on that list."
The department added that it had received "diplomatic assurances" and expects to provide formal notice to Abrego Garcia before pursuing removal by next Friday.
The filing also defends Liberia as a suitable destination, asserting: "Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States' closest partners on the African continent. ... Its national language is English ... and it modeled its constitution ... in large part on the U.S. Constitution. Liberia is also committed to the humane treatment of refugees."
Friday's step escalates a yearlong dispute involving President Donald Trump's administration and the Salvadoran national, whose case has drawn scrutiny after he was removed to El Salvador despite a ruling protecting him from returning there.
He was later brought back to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia separately faces human smuggling charges in federal court in Tennessee tied to a 2022 traffic stop. He has pleaded not guilty and moved to dismiss the case as vindictive.
This month, U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. let discovery proceed on that claim, finding a "reasonable likelihood" of vindictiveness and setting further proceedings.
The Justice Department maintains immigration authorities can carry out removal while the criminal case continues, though a Maryland federal judge previously barred immediate deportation as litigation over his detention proceeds.
Abrego Garcia's counsel criticized the new plan.
"Having struck out with Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia — a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland," attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said, according to The Associated Press.
"Costa Rica has agreed to accept him as a refugee, and [it] remains a viable and lawful option. Instead, the government has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship. Their actions are punitive, cruel, and unconstitutional."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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