The Trump administration has notified lawyers for Kilmar Abrego, a Salvadoran detainee at a Virginia immigration facility, that Eswatini has replaced Uganda as the country designated for his deportation, according to an email from a Department of Homeland Security official.
The official said the change followed Abrego’s claim that he fears persecution or torture in Uganda. Abrego, who has no ties to Eswatini, was previously slated for removal there if he rejected a plea deal and, at one point, offered Costa Rica if he pleaded guilty, according to court filings.
Abrego’s case has become a flashpoint since March, when U.S. authorities accused him of gang affiliation and sent him to El Salvador despite a U.S. judge’s order barring deportation to his home country. He was returned to the United States in June to face charges of human smuggling.
In a message to Abrego’s counsel, the DHS official dismissed the credibility of his fear claims, noting his attorneys had cited potential persecution in numerous countries, and said: “your new country of removal is Eswatini.”
In July, DHS sent a deportation flight to Eswatini that the agency said carried individuals so dangerous their home countries would not accept them.