DHS says notice about deporting Abrego Garcia to Ghana was 'premature'
After serving Kilmar Abrego Garcia with a notice of removal to Ghana, the Department of Homeland Security told his attorneys the notice was "premature" and asked them to disregard the document.
In a post on X on Friday, the foreign minister of Ghana said the country is not accepting Abrego Garcia.
"He cannot be deported to Ghana," said Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa. "This has been directly and unambiguously conveyed to US authorities. In my interactions with US officials, I made clear that our understanding to accept a limited number of non-criminal West Africans, purely on the grounds of African solidarity and humanitarian principles would not be expanded."
The Department of Homeland Security previously said it planned to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Ghana, according to a notice from the agency to his attorneys.
Before that, DHS said it was planning to deport Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador and then brought back to the U.S., to Eswatini and Uganda.
Attorneys for Abrego Garcia will be in court on Friday for an evidentiary hearing in which government witnesses are expected to testify about the steps taken to remove him to Eswatini or elsewhere.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison -- despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family and attorneys deny.
He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
After being released into the custody of his brother in Maryland pending trial, he was again detained by immigration authorities, who indicated their intention to deport him.
Last week, an immigration judge denied a motion by Abrego Garcia's attorneys to reopen his immigration case.
