Overview

• DHS informed Kilmar Abrego García’s lawyers that Eswatini is the newly designated country of removal, replacing Uganda after he cited fear of persecution there.
• U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis temporarily blocked any expulsion, ordered Abrego to remain in the country in ICE custody within 200 miles of her Maryland court, and set an evidentiary hearing for October 6.
• Abrego remains detained in Virginia after a mistaken March deportation to El Salvador and his June return; he has pleaded not guilty to human-smuggling charges in Tennessee with a trial expected in January.
• Prosecutors argue he is ineligible for asylum by alleging MS-13 membership, a claim he denies; his lawyers say he rejected a plea proposal tied to resettlement in Costa Rica.
• Government data show roughly 8,000 third-country deportations through June after the Supreme Court allowed the practice, while Eswatini has said it has begun taking detainees without confirming it will accept Abrego.