Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man who the government says was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, will meet with immigration officials Monday under the looming threat of a second deportation, this time to Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abrego’s case \u2014 a flashpoint in the Trump administrations crackdown on immigration \u2014 is now at a major crossroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was released from federal custody on parole <\/a>Friday and had a tearful reunion with his family <\/strong>after nearly half a year apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Trump administration has doubled down on its resolve to deport him, alleging he is a member of the violent gang MS-13 \u2014 a claim his attorneys have repeatedly denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abrego had been deported in March in what the White House called an \u201cadministrative error<\/a>,\u201d and after a tedious legal saga, he was returned to the United States in June. But he was immediately detained again, this time on human smuggling charges in Tennessee<\/a>. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minutes after his release, immigration authorities notified Abrego that they intend to deport him to Uganda<\/a>. Separately, the Trump administration offered him a plea deal that would ensure his eventual deportation to Costa Rica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Friday night, the government informed Abrego that he has until “first thing” Monday morning to accept a plea in exchange for deportation to Costa Rica, “or else that offer will be off the table forever,” Abrego’s attorneys wrote in a filing as part of their efforts to get the charges in Tennessee dropped over what they consider to be a “vindictive” and “selective” prosecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are how Monday’s appointment may play out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abrego will have a check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore on Monday as part of the conditions of his release from federal custody on parole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Typically, such an ICE check-in is a brief meeting with an officer from ICE\u2019s Enforcement and Removal Operations to review case status, provide updates and confirm where a person is living. Usually, a person is released until the next scheduled check-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Abrego’s attorneys told NBC News they expect he will be taken into ICE custody during the check-in, given the Trump administration’s notice of its intention to deport him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A judge ruled in July that the government had to provide 72 hours\u2019 notice, excluding weekends, if it intends to deport Abrego to a third country, which the Justice Department provided Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abrego\u2019s lawyers have said he illegally immigrated to the United States when he was 16 to join his brother in Maryland to escape gang violence in El Salvador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His deportation to El Salvador\u00a0violated a 2019 court order\u00a0<\/a>that protected him from being deported to his home country because of concerns that he\u2019d be persecuted by violent gangs. But that order doesn\u2019t prevent his deportation to any other country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several paths could unfold from here: Abrego could take the plea deal and eventually be deported to Costa Rica or he could refuse to and be deported to Uganda, or his lawyers could fight Uganda as a deportation option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Abrego doesn\u2019t change his plea in the Tennessee federal case, he could be deported to Uganda as soon as Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Abrego couldn\u2019t face the criminal charges of human smuggling brought against him by Justice Department in that case if he is removed from the country. His trial is set for January in Nashville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n