Kilmar Abrego’s story is once again caught in the gears of America’s immigration and justice systems, with the Trump administration announcing plans to try him before deporting him—for a second time. But this time, officials insist, El Salvador is off the list.
Abrego, 29, had been legally living in Maryland with a work permit, a U.S. citizen wife, and a young son, before he was wrongly deported to El Salvador in March—a country he was explicitly barred from being sent to due to fears of persecution, based on a 2019 court order. Despite that judicial shield, he was flown out, jailed in San Salvador, and then flown back weeks later after the error sparked outrage.
Now, the administration wants him to face federal criminal charges for allegedly smuggling undocumented migrants—a charge to which he’s pleaded not guilty. Only after the trial, the White House says, will deportation come into play.
But to where? That remains a mystery.
“He will face the full force of the American justice system—including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in a post on X. No further details were given on what would follow that.
In court on Thursday, Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn told a Maryland judge that there were “no imminent plans” to remove Abrego, but if and when he is deported, it wouldn’t be back to El Salvador. He declined to name the destination.
Abrego’s legal team isn’t convinced. Defense attorney Sean Hecker described the government’s messaging as chaotic and self-contradictory. “No one has any idea whether there are concrete plans for our client, or what those plans are,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abrego’s civil lawsuit over his March deportation is pending before a federal judge in Maryland, while his criminal case plays out in Tennessee. The judge in the Tennessee case is expected to release him as early as Friday, but the administration has indicated it will immediately place him in immigration custody—raising fresh concerns he could vanish into ICE detention or be flown out again without notice.
Federal prosecutors in Nashville have said they’ll do their best to coordinate with immigration authorities, but admitted they can’t control what happens once Homeland Security takes over.
As the legal limbo continues, Abrego’s case has become a flashpoint in Trump’s return to aggressive immigration enforcement—a tangle of policy, punishment, and paperwork with a man’s life caught in the middle.
