Kilmar Abrego Garcia rearrested three days after his release from Tennessee jail

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has become a flashpoint in the debate over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, was taken back into federal custody on Monday, with officials confirming he is now slated for deportation to Uganda.

Abrego Garcia, 30, was initially deported to El Salvador in March in what the Justice Department later acknowledged was an “administrative error.” He was returned to the United States soon after, but his legal troubles have since deepened.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on X that Abrego Garcia had been rearrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Department of Homeland Security confirmed he “will be processed for removal to Uganda.”

Just days earlier, Abrego Garcia had been released from a Tennessee jail, where he faces human smuggling charges. Under the terms of that release, he was permitted to return to his home in Maryland but required to report to ICE in Baltimore. When he appeared at the field office on Monday, he was detained again.

Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of his attorneys, told a crowd of supporters outside the ICE building that the arrest was unjustified.

“The notice stated that the reason was an interview,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “Clearly that was false. There was no need for them to take him into ICE detention. He was already on electronic monitoring from the US Marshal Service and basically on house arrest. The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him.”

Protesters holding “Free Kilmar” signs chanted “Shame, shame” as the arrest was confirmed.

The unusual decision to send Abrego Garcia to Uganda, where he has no known ties, marks a new twist in a case that has drawn sharp criticism from immigration advocates. He had been living legally in the United States since 2019 under protected status after a judge ruled that deportation could place him in danger if sent to his native El Salvador.

Despite that ruling, he was among hundreds deported earlier this year as part of Trump’s aggressive push to remove undocumented migrants, ending up briefly in El Salvador’s high-security CECOT prison. When his wrongful deportation was exposed, federal authorities brought him back to the US.

Prosecutors allege Abrego Garcia is linked to the MS-13 gang and involved in smuggling migrants across the border, charges he has denied. His legal team argues he is being targeted unfairly, pointing to a plea deal offered by government officials last week: remain in custody, plead guilty to human smuggling, and accept deportation to Costa Rica. Abrego Garcia rejected the offer.