Overview

• Abrego Garcia was taken into ICE custody during a scheduled check‑in in Baltimore, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said he is being processed for deportation.
• His legal team filed in federal court in Maryland for an interim order blocking removal, pointing to a standing order that pauses immediate deportations for detainees who file habeas petitions.
• Federal prosecutors recently offered a plea deal that would have sent him to Costa Rica if he admitted to human‑smuggling charges; he rejected the offer, and his lawyers call the prosecution vindictive and coercive.
• Immigration officials have indicated Uganda as a potential destination following his refusal of the Costa Rica deal, though he has no known ties to that country.
• He remains indicted in Tennessee on human‑smuggling counts stemming from a 2022 traffic stop, has pleaded not guilty, denies alleged MS‑13 ties, and previously was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March in what officials called an administrative error.