January 1, Trump Team Seeks Deportation to Liberia

Wyatt’s Take

• The Trump administration wants to send suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia.
• Abrego Garcia faces charges of smuggling illegal migrants, drugs, and guns in the U.S.
• His lawyers claim he fears persecution in over twenty countries, but Liberia isn’t one of them.

Federal officials are preparing to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, accused MS-13 member and illegal migrant smuggler, to the African nation of Liberia. Court documents say authorities plan to carry this out by the end of October if possible.

Abrego Garcia previously got deported to El Salvador despite a court ruling, then returned to the U.S. in June. Prosecutors have struggled to find a country willing to take him, with Liberia finally agreeing.

“Federal Defendants hereby provide notice that they have identified a new country for removal that has agreed to accept Petitioner: the Republic of Liberia,” lawyers wrote.

The Justice Department notes Liberia is a U.S. ally and a democracy where English is spoken, saying this could help Abrego Garcia adjust. “Liberia also is committed to the humane treatment of refugees,” they stated.

Before picking Liberia, authorities considered other African countries like Eswatini and Uganda, but Garcia said he feared persecution in nearly every country mentioned. “Your attorney has informed us, however, that you fear persecution or torture in Uganda. 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.”

The list of nations he says he fears includes Uganda, El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica, and many others in Latin America and the Caribbean.

It’s not certain if officials can deport him to Liberia by the end of the month. A judge in Maryland has ordered Abrego Garcia to be detained in the U.S. until a hearing takes place.

Prosecutors allege that Garcia, besides smuggling migrants across states, was caught transporting eight undocumented people in Tennessee. All listed Garcia’s address as their own, and none had luggage during the traffic stop.

His wife had accused him of domestic violence several times in 2020 and 2021 but now calls those incidents isolated.

If you want to stay informed about the latest on immigration enforcement, keep reading Middle America News.

Wyatt Matters

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