Trump Admin Wants Judge To Lift Block On Deportation Of Kilmar Abrego Garcia so It Can Send Him To Africa

The Trump administration has requested a judge to lift a block on the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying it is ready to deport him to Liberia.

In a legal filing, the Department of Homeland Security said that the block instated by judge Paula Xinis is the only thing preventing it from conducting the deportation.

It went on to claim that the Liberian government is willing to accept Garcia, who would be sent there in a charter plane before the end of the week. Officials requested that Xinis issue a motion on the matter by April 17.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who has lived in the United States for nearly 15 years, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March despite a court order protecting him from being returned there.

He was brought back to the United States in June after the Supreme Court declined to intervene in his case, and he later pleaded not guilty to federal smuggling charges in Nashville. After a Tennessee judge allowed his release, ICE immediately detained him again and pursued removal to several third countries.

Abrego Garcia has pledged not guilty to human smuggling charges in Tennessee. His defense argues that the prosecution constitutes retaliation for the fact that his mistaken deportation dominated headlines and put officials in hot water until his return.

His team has also asked the government to turn over documents showing that the decision to prosecute him took place in 2025 even though the incident for which he is being accused happened three years prior.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw found there was "some evidence" that the prosecution could be vindictive. Rob McGuire, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee until late December, said any claim was irrelevant because the decision to prosecute Abrego Garcia was his and he didn't have any animosity toward him.

Abrego Garcia was released in December after judge Xinis determined that the government detained him "without lawful authority."