Federal prosecutors told a judge Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security plans to send Kilmar Ábrego García to Liberia, brushing aside a new agreement with Costa Rica that was supposed to resolve cases like his.
The El Salvador native has become a symbol of immigration chaos after DHS deported him to the wrong country last year. Upon his return to the United States, he faced the prospect of removal again, this time to a rotating list of African nations that homeland security officials proposed.
The Costa Rica deal, inked recently, was meant to address a stubborn problem: what to do with deportees whose home countries will not accept them back. Rather than shuttle people across continents, the new arrangement would allow Costa Rica to absorb some of these cases.
Yet prosecutors indicated the government sees no reason to use that option in García's situation, signaling that his legal battle over where he can be sent is far from over.
The case has placed a spotlight on deportation practices and the government's handling of removals. García's initial mistake, in which he was deported to El Salvador when he should have gone elsewhere, raised questions about oversight and verification procedures within DHS.
Whether the new Costa Rica agreement will actually ease the burden of such cases remains uncertain. García's continued fight suggests the government remains committed to deporting him to nations he may have no ties to, rather than accepting a regional solution.
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