The Trump administration told Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Friday it is now seeking to deport him to the tiny African kingdom of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement email obtained by CBS News.
The email from a top ICE official noted that Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have warned he fears being persecuted or tortured in Uganda, where federal authorities threatened to deport him last month after he was detained once again by immigration officials following his release from criminal custody.
The ICE official said Abrego Garcia, through his attorneys, has also claimed fear of being harmed if deported to more than 20 countries, most of them in Latin America.
In the email, the official called the alleged claims “hard to take seriously,” but added: “Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.”
CBS News reached out to representatives and an attorney for Abrego Garcia, asking for comment on the Trump administration’s threat to send their client to Eswatini.
Eswatini is at least the fourth possible destination that the Trump administration has floated for Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador who was mistakenly deported in March, held in a notorious Salvadoran prison and