After the Trump administration previously said it would seek to remove Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to El Salvador if a judge granted his attorneys' request to reopen his immigration case, the government said on Friday it now plans to deport him to Eswatini, Africa.
The update came in an email from an official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Abrego Garcia's attorneys, saying that his claim of fear of persecution in Uganda is "hard to take seriously" because he also claimed fear of persecution or torture in at least 22 other countries.
The countries listed in the email include El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti.
In response, Abrego Garcia's attorneys sent an email to ICE notifying the agency that Abrego Garcia also "expresses a fear of torture and persecution upon removal to Eswatini."
"Third-country nationals previously removed from the United States to Eswatini have all been detained in extremely harsh and tortuous conditions; that country has a well-documented record of human rights violations," his attorneys said. "[And] to our knowledge, Eswatini has offered no guarantees that it will not promptly deport Mr. Abrego Garcia to El Salvador where he already experienced torture and will experience torture again."
The email comes after the Trump administration said in a court filing on Thursday, obtained by ABC News, that it would remove Abrego Garcia to El Salvador again if a judge grants his attorneys' request to reopen his immigration case.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison -- despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family and attorneys deny.
He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human trafficking charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
After being released into the custody of his brother in Maryland pending trial, he was again detained by immigration authorities, who indicated their intention to deport him.
In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, guards escort a newly admitted inmate allegedly linked to criminal organizations inside a cell at CECOT on March 16, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Trump's administration deported 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal organizations 'Tren De Arag...Show more ---Show more
Handout/Salvadoran Government via Getty
MORE: Timeline: Wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador
A federal judge last month blocked Abrego Garcia's deportation until at least early October. He is currently detained at a detention center in Farmville, Virginia.
The court filing, submitted to the Baltimore Immigration Court on Thursday, was filed after Abrego Garcia's attorneys moved to reopen his case to seek asylum.
"Should the Immigration Court grant the respondent's motion to reopen, DHS will pursue the respondent's removal to El Salvador, as his prior grant of withholding of removal will no longer be valid," the government said in the filing.
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In 2019, an immigration judge granted Abrego Garcia an order of removal, which prohibited his deportation to El Salvador.
If proceedings are reopened, Abrego Garcia will be required to establish "eligibility for any forms of relief or protection from El Salvador," the government said.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, attends an event with supporters, as he appears for a check-in at the ICE Baltimore field office three days after his release from criminal custody in Tennessee, in Baltimore, Maryland, August 25, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
On Thursday, the government said that Abrego Garcia's imprisonment at CECOT "was both a lawful sanction and one not specifically intended to cause the requisite pain or suffering."
"Even assuming that the respondent's imprisonment rises to the level of torture, past torture is not determinative of the likelihood of future torture," the government said.
The government also dismissed the attorneys' concerns about El Salvador's "gang-targeting tactics," arguing they "do not reflect the ultimate treatment" Abrego Garcia received after his wrongful deportation in March.
"After being processed in [CECOT], he was transferred to Centro Industrial because he was perceived as a civilian," the government said. "His detention conditions at Centro Industrial differ substantially from those described in the country conditions evidence."
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, attends an event with supporters, as he appears for a check-in at the ICE Baltimore field office three days after his release from criminal custody in Tennessee, in Baltimore, Maryland, August 25, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
In the filing, the government also argued that the request to reopen Abrego Garcia's immigration case should be denied because it "fails to show that country conditions in El Salvador have materially changed, and it further fails to establish that he" is eligible for asylum.
According to the emergency motion filed last month to reopen the case, his attorneys argue that because Abrego Garcia was deported and then brought back to the U.S., he is now eligible to apply for asylum within one year of his last entry into the U.S.
In the filings, the government called Abrego Garcia a member of a foreign terrorist organization, arguing it makes him ineligible for asylum. Abrego Garcia's attorneys and families have repeatedly denied accusations that he is a member of MS-13.
"He has engaged in extensive criminal activities since he has been in the United States," the government said. "He is a known member of the MS-13, a dangerous FTO."