US to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia

US immigration authorities plan to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, to Liberia, the Justice Department announced Friday.

Officials said they will formally notify Abrego Garcia of the new designation later in the day.

Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March during a nationwide crackdown by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that targeted alleged MS-13 and Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members. He was returned to the United States in June to face human smuggling charges in the state of Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty. After being released to his brother in Maryland, he was later detained again and is now held in Pennsylvania.

In a court filing, federal officials said Liberia has agreed to accept Abrego Garcia and described the country as "a thriving democracy and one of the United States's closest partners on the African continent."

The filing added that Liberia's Constitution, modeled in part on the US Constitution, "provides robust protections for human rights" and that the country is "committed to the humane treatment of refugees."

Officials said they have received diplomatic assurances regarding Abrego Garcia's treatment in Liberia and are making arrangements to carry out the removal, which could take place as soon as Oct. 31.