US Deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran national who entered the United States in his teens and lived in Maryland for over a decade with his U.S. citizen wife and their children. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him withholding of removal to El Salvador after finding he faced a “clear probability of future persecution” by gangs if deported there. The U.S. government later alleged he was a member of the transnational gang MS 13, though he was never criminally charged for gang-membership and the evidence was called into question by a federal judge.

Despite the 2019 protection order, Abrego Garcia was deported in March 2025 to El Salvador under what the U.S. government later called an “administrative error.” After advocacy and court orders—including from the Supreme Court of the United States—he was returned to the United States in June 2025 and then indicted on federal human-smuggling charges in Tennessee, allegations he denies as retaliatory.

According to AP News, Liberia has formally agreed to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia if the United States proceeds with his deportation. U.S. officials described Liberia as “a thriving democracy committed to humane treatment of refugees,” citing assurances from the Liberian government that Abrego Garcia would be received safely and treated in accordance with international norms. The Department of Justice said deportation could occur as early as October 31, 2025, marking the first time the U.S. has arranged for removal to Liberia in such a case