The Trump administration seems to have gained an upper hand in the legal battle against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 gang member and human trafficker from El Salvador.
If the recent reports are accurate, the administration's relentless pursuit may have finally paid off.
According to RedState, Abrego Garcia was released from a Tennessee jail on August 22 and promptly returned to Maryland. However, on August 28, he was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with all indications suggesting his next stop would be Uganda. However, a legal intervention by Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, temporarily halted the deportation.
Abrego Garcia's legal team swiftly filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Judge Xinis then intervened, temporarily blocking his deportation to Uganda, citing "several grounds" on which she could provide relief. During a hearing, Judge Xinis ordered that Abrego Garcia must remain detained in the U.S. until an evidentiary hearing is held.
She stated that there are "several grounds" on which she may have jurisdiction to provide relief, including the fact that Uganda has not agreed to offer Abrego Garcia protections such as freedom of movement, refugee status, and assurance against re-deportation to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia's lawyers argued that he should not be sent to Uganda due to his "fear of persecution and torture," the same reason he cited to avoid being sent back to his native El Salvador. However, it appears that Uganda and El Salvador are not the only countries where Abrego Garcia allegedly fears for his safety.
Bill Melugin of Fox News obtained a document revealing that Abrego Garcia, through his lawyers, claimed to fear persecution or torture in at least 22 countries. The document, an email from ICE to Abrego Garcia's lawyers, suggests that the Trump administration is growing weary of these claims.
The email reads, "[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."
In a surprising turn of events, ICE notified Abrego Garcia that his new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa. Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a small country in the southern part of Africa, nestled between South Africa and Mozambique. The country was renamed from Swaziland to Eswatini in 2018 by King MSWATI III to reflect the name most commonly used by its citizens.
The Trump administration's decision to deport Abrego Garcia to Eswatini, a country not previously mentioned in his claims of fear, raises questions about the validity of his fears and the lengths to which the administration will go to ensure the rule of law. It remains to be seen how this case will unfold and what impact it will have on future immigration and deportation cases.
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