Judge questions Trump’s plan to send Salvadoran to Liberia to stand trial

The Trump administration told a federal judge during a hearing Monday that it preferred to deport Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Africa rather than prosecute him for transporting illegal migrants.

Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland questioned a Justice Department lawyer about the plans, asking whether the administration would deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia this week if it can clear legal hurdles. Xinis currently has an injunction preventing the deportation of Abrego Garcia.

“I was told that if there was no ban, we would send it back on Friday,” Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign said.

Xinis pressed Ensign about Abrego Garcia’s criminal case in Tennessee, and Ensign responded that he didn’t know how deporting Abrego Garcia would affect that case. The judge expressed skepticism about the administration’s desired expulsion date of Friday.

FEDERAL JUDGE LOSES PATIENCE WITH TRUMP DOJ AS ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION STAGES AGAIN

Surrounded by reporters, Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, enter a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office August 25, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Xinis noted that a high-pressure hearing will take place next week on whether the DOJ vindictively brought criminal charges against Abrego Garcia after initially admitting to mistakenly deporting him to a prison in El Salvador earlier this year.

“I don’t believe a criminal case can move forward if there’s no defendant,” Xinis said, adding, “I’m trying to understand how useful this Friday is, and the reason I’m asking this question is because it’s common knowledge that there will be an evidentiary hearing (in Tennessee) next week.”

Liberia is now the fourth African country discussed by Trump administration lawyers after identifying three other countries, Uganda, Ghana and Eswatini, that could potentially accept Abrego Garcia, pending the dissolution of Xinis’ injunction keeping him in the United States.

The judge noted that the Department of Homeland Security’s position on deporting him and the DOJ’s position on putting him on trial did not match and that she suspected behind-the-scenes logistical discussions were taking place.

“The fact that there was no coordination just doesn’t pass the test,” Xinis said.

DHS to soon deport ABREGO GARCIA TO AFRICAN NATION AFTER ILLEGAL ALIENS RETURN FROM EL SALVADOR, FILE SHOWS

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who was deported to El Salvador, wears a Chicago Bulls hat, in this document. (Abrego Garcia family/document via REUTERS)

Abrego Garcia’s defense attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told the judge his team was unhappy with Liberia, saying they were unsure whether their client would be detained or free in Liberia and currently suspected he could be deported back to El Salvador, where he established a credible fear of persecution.

Sandoval-Moshenberg reiterated that Abrego Garcia was prepared to be deported to Costa Rica, the only country that explicitly agreed to grant him asylum and not send him back to El Salvador.

Xinis asked Ensign about the administration’s position on his deportation to Costa Rica, after Abrego Garcia’s lawyers previously accused the government of dangling that option in exchange for his guilty plea in his Tennessee criminal case.

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY BANS ABREGO GARCIA FROM EXPULSION TO UGANDA

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blamed “activist” judges for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia on August 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo/George Walker IV, file)

“Can you explain to us why we are continuing this hearing when you could deport him to a third country tomorrow? asked Xinis, adding: “Now we are about to burn through significant resources… to now talk about a fourth African country.”

Fox News Digital has contacted the DOJ for comment.

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In August, when Abrego Garcia’s lawyers first informed the court that the DOJ had floated Costa Rica as part of a plea deal, a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement that pleading guilty or going to trial were Abrego Garcia’s only options because he posed a “clear danger” to the community. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“This defendant can plead guilty and accept responsibility or be tried before a jury,” the spokesperson said. “No matter what, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the American people.”

Breanne Deppisch of Fox News Digital and Jake Gibson of Fox News contributed to this report.