The Trump administration announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with Liberia to accept Kilmar Abrego, the migrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March, a case that drew attention amid the Republican president’s immigration crackdown.
According to a Justice Department court filing, Abrego could be deported to Liberia as soon as October 31.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, based in Maryland, has temporarily blocked his removal while considering his request for release from immigration detention.
It remains unclear how the agreement with Liberia will affect the judge’s ruling. Abrego may also seek to challenge his removal by claiming a risk of torture or persecution.
According to Reuters, Liberia said it would accept Abrego “on a strictly humanitarian and temporary basis” following the U.S. request.
The country’s information ministry stated that it would ensure Abrego is not sent to “any country where he may face substantial risk of persecution, torture or other serious harm.”
Liberia is the first African nation to agree to receive Abrego after the administration unsuccessfully explored Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana as alternatives.
Abrego, a sheet metal worker, entered the United States illegally and had been living in Maryland with his wife, their child, and two of her children, all U.S. citizens, when he was arrested and deported to El Salvador.
There, he was placed in a mega-prison known for harsh conditions, in violation of a prior U.S. court order.
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He returned to the United States in June, and the Justice Department filed criminal charges accusing him of smuggling migrants.
Abrego has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have argued that the prosecution is vindictive. The administration has also alleged he was affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim his lawyers deny.
Abrego’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said, “The government has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship.
Their actions are punitive, cruel and unconstitutional.” He added that Abrego has no personal connection to Liberia, and the country is far from his family in Maryland.
Lawyers for Abrego have previously accused the administration of violating his constitutional due process rights.
A pending deportation could affect his criminal trial in Nashville, Tennessee, scheduled for November 4–5, which will examine whether the charges were filed in retaliation for his legal challenge to the March deportation. Abrego’s team has requested testimony from multiple Justice Department officials.
The administration had previously signaled plans to remove Abrego again in August, but his lawyers prefer a move to Costa Rica, a Spanish-speaking country that has agreed to accept him. The U.S. government has not approved this option.
The Justice Department highlighted Liberia’s historic ties to the United States, its record of humane treatment of refugees, and its robust human rights protections, even though a 2024 U.S.
State Department report flagged significant concerns, including extrajudicial killings. Liberia was one of five African countries the Trump administration approached in July to accept migrants being deported outside their home countries.
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