The Department of Homeland Security on Friday notified Kilmar Abrego Garcia that it plans to remove him to Eswatini, a small Southern African kingdom, according to an email obtained by multiple news outlets.
Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year, returned to the United States in June and has since been charged with human smuggling. He surrendered to immigration officials in Maryland last month. The Trump administration previously indicated it intended to deport him to Uganda, a move his lawyers have said could expose him to persecution or torture and that he intends to challenge while seeking asylum in the United States.
The email, obtained by outlets including CBS, CNN and Fox News, said Abrego Garcia’s “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 notice said the claim was followed by a bulleted list of 22 nations and concluded, “Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.”
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the letter to HuffPost, saying, “TRUE: An IMMIGRATION JUDGE ordered him removed. ICE will comply with that order.” Abrego Garcia’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis earlier this week issued an order barring the government from removing Abrego Garcia from the United States before an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Oct. 6. Xinis also ordered that if the Department of Homeland Security begins the process of deporting Abrego Garcia to a country other than El Salvador, where he was born, the agency must provide him written notice at least 72 hours before the intended removal.
Eswatini, known as Swaziland until 2018, is one of the world’s remaining absolute monarchies. The country covers roughly 6,700 square miles and has an estimated population of about 1.2 million people. News reports have documented prior deportations to Eswatini; the Associated Press reported in July that five people were removed there and that their attorney argued the government had denied them due process.
Abrego Garcia’s case has drawn attention because of the sequence of events this year: an initial removal to El Salvador that U.S. officials later described as an “administrative error,” his return to the United States in June, the subsequent human smuggling charges, and evolving government statements about the intended destination for his removal. His lawyers have argued that removal to Uganda would expose him to the risk of persecution and torture and that he should be allowed to pursue asylum claims in the United States.
The coming weeks will include prehearing procedures and the Oct. 6 evidentiary hearing in federal court, where a judge will consider the legal arguments over his removal and the government’s authority to send him to a country other than El Salvador. Until that hearing, Xinis’s order prevents DHS from carrying out a removal.
The case underscores ongoing tensions in U.S. immigration enforcement over deportation destinations, due process and the treatment of migrants who return to the United States after removal. Government officials have cited immigration orders and prior rulings in explaining removal plans; defense lawyers have emphasized constitutional protections and international risks to individuals facing deportation.