Aug 25, 2025 - Politics & Policy
What has happened in Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case so far
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia now faces potential deportation to Uganda, despite the Trump administration calling reports of his deportation to a third country "fake news" earlier this year.
The big picture: The Maryland man, originally from El Salvador, has been a flashpoint in President Trump's immigration agenda. The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that Abrego Garcia is a criminal and a known member of MS-13, and the Department of Justice has charged him with human smuggling.
- Abrego Garcia's lawyers successfully argued for his return to the U.S., which was completed in June.
- Since then, Abrego Garcia was charged with human smuggling, but pleaded not guilty to the charges in Tennessee federal court.
Read more about his experiences from March to August below:
Aug. 25
- Abrego Garcia is detained by ICE and taken into immigration detention in Baltimore.
- Court filings from the Department of Justice indicate plans to deport him to Uganda, though Abrego Garcia's attorney's filed to fight those removal efforts until a court has heard his claim for protection, per AP.
- Filing the lawsuit triggered blanket court order will automatically pause deportation efforts for two days.
- "Regardless of what happens today with ICE, promise me this," Abrego Garcia said Monday in Baltimore. "That you will keep fighting, praying, believing in dignity and freedom — not just for me, for everyone."
Aug. 22
- Abrego Garcia is released from Tennessee jail and transported to Maryland.
June 30
- Abrego Garcia's release from jail delayed out of concern that he would be deported if released while awaiting trial.
June 26
- The White House says an AP report of plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a third country are "fake news."
- "Due to operational security, ICE does not confirm future removal operations until they have landed in respective countries," a DHS spokesperson said at the time.
June 13
- Abrego Garcia pleads not guilty to human smuggling charges in a federal court in Tennessee. The court appearance was the first chance he had in a U.S. courtroom to answer the Trump administration's allegations, per AP.
June 7
- Abrego Garcia is returned to the U.S. and charged with smuggling undocumented immigrants.
- Trump said it wasn't his decision to bring him back.
- "The Department of Justice decided to do it that way, and that's fine," the president said.
April 17
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) meets with Abrego Garcia after being denied entry to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison twice.
- Abrego Garcia told Van Hollen that he is being mistreated at CECOT.
April 10
- The Supreme Court issues in an unsigned order with no dissenting votes that the Trump administration must take steps to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's release from the El Salvador prison where he was deported.
- The high court said the government must ensure his case is "handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador."
March 15
- Abrego Garcia is deported to El Salvador after being arrested by ICE in Baltimore on March 12. At the time of his arrest, immigration agents wrongly told him that his status had changed.
- The Justice Department later admitted that Abrego Garcia was deported because of an "administrative error."
Kilmar Abrego Garcia detained again by ICE, faces deportation to Uganda
