The Trump administration may have finally outmatched the legal team representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, if what’s being reported tonight pans out.
Readers might recall that the alleged MS-13 gang member and human trafficker from El Salvador was released from jail by a Tennessee judge on Aug. 22 and immediately returned to Maryland.
Then on Aug. 28, Abrego Garcia was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with all signs pointing to his next destination being Uganda. But as my colleague Bonchie wrote, a judge appointed by former Pres. Barack Obama ordered a temporary block of the deportation:
In response, Abrego-Garcia’s lawyers immediately filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Now, Judge Paula Xinis, a Barack Obama appointee, has stepped in and stopped his latest deportation, claiming there are “several grounds” on which she may provide relief.
At a hearing Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered that Abrego must remain stay detained in the U.S. — temporarily blocking his deportation to Uganda — until she holds an evidentiary hearing.
The judge said there are “several grounds” on which there may be jurisdiction for her to exercise relief — including that Uganda has not agreed to offer Abrego protections, like being able to walk freely, being given refugee status and not being re-deported to El Salvador.
READ MORE: Kilmar Abrego Garcia Finally Detained by ICE – but There’s More to the Story
New: Obama Judge Blocks Abrego-Garcia Deportation to Uganda, and the Game Being Played Is Obvious
As Bonchie noted, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys gave the judge a familiar reason why he should not be sent to Uganda, writing that there was “fear of persecution and torture.” The same reason “he gave to avoid being sent back to his native El Salvador.”
It turns out that Uganda and El Salvador aren’t the only countries on the planet where Abrego Garcia allegedly fears for his safety, according to a document obtained by Fox News’ Bill Melugin.
Melugin broke the story via a post on his X account, sharing an email he says that ICE sent through Abrego Garcia’s lawyers to the illegal alien on Friday afternoon. In the email, the Trump administration appears to be losing patience with the excuses.
ICE writes that “[t]he 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 countries.” Here’s the list:
- El Salvador
- Uganda
- Mexico
- Belize
- Costa Rica
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Columbia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Haiti
Then they let Abrego Garcia know his new destination:
Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.
You may be asking yourself (I certainly did) where exactly Eswatini is located. Helpfully, the CIA updated its file on the tiny African country this week, noting that it’s in the southern part of the continent, nestled between South Africa and Mozambique:
European countries defined the kingdom’s modern borders during the late-19th century, and Swaziland (as it became known) was administered as a UK high commission territory from 1903 until its independence in 1968.
…
King MSWATI III renamed the country from Swaziland to Eswatini in 2018 to reflect the name most commonly used by its citizens.
BREAKING: @FoxNews has obtained an email ICE sent to Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s lawyers this afternoon notifying them that ICE now plans to deport him to the tiny African country of ESWATINI due to him claiming fear of persecution/torture in Uganda & 20+ other countries, which ICE… pic.twitter.com/qpPiE6ZeyB
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 5, 2025
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