Kilmar Abrego Garcia speaks to protesters who held a prayer vigil and rally on his behalf outside of the ICE office in Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday,  Aug. 25, 2025. Lydia Walther Rodriguez with CASA interprets for him. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

BALTIMORE — Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore early Monday for a prayer vigil for the wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration aims to re-deport to Uganda unless he pleads guilty to Justice Department charges.

As Abrego Garcia arrived for his Monday ICE check-in at the office, he was arrested and detained, one of his immigration lawyers, Simon Y. Sandoval-Moshenberg, told the crowd. 

The crowd shouted “Shame!”

Sandoval-Moshenberg added that the ICE officials  at the time would not answer questions about where Abrego Garcia would be detained. 

“The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said outside the office. 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to States Newsroom that “ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation.”

DHS said that ICE has placed Abrego Garcia in removal proceedings to Uganda, which has agreed to accept deportees from the United States.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys quickly filed a habeas corpus petition suit in a Maryland district court, where Judge Paula Xinis, who also ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garica after his wrongful deportation, has barred immigration officials from removing Abrego Garcia from the United States until 4 p.m. Eastern Wednesday. A habeas corpus petition allows immigrants to challenge their detention.

In a Monday afternoon emergency hearing with Xinis, the attorneys for Abrego Garcia, including Sandoval-Moshenberg, said he was being held in Virginia.

Sandoval-Moshenberg asked Xinis if she could order that Abrego Garcia not be moved from Virginia because he was concerned that Abrego Garcia could be moved. Xinis agreed, saying the order would give Abrego Garcia access to his legal counsel in his criminal case and habeas one.

Sandoval-Moshenberg said Abrego Garcia would accept refugee status that has been offered by Costa Rica’s government, but would not plead guilty to the charges. 

‘I am free and have been reunited with my family’

As Abrego Garcia walked into his ICE check-in with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, he was greeted by cheers from hundreds of protesters. 

In Spanish, Abrego Garcia thanked those who attended.

“I always want you to remember that today, I can say with pride, that I am free and have been reunited with my family,” he said. 

Immigrant rights activists from the advocacy group CASA shielded the family and the attorneys as they entered the field office. 

Over the weekend, attorneys for Abrego Garcia’s criminal case in Nashville said in court filings that the Trump administration is trying to force the Maryland man to plead guilty to human smuggling charges by promising to remove him to Costa Rica if he does so, and threatening to deport him to Uganda if he refuses. 

Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty and was released Friday to await trial in January on charges he took part in a long-running conspiracy to smuggle immigrants without legal status across the United States. 

His attorneys received a letter from ICE that informed them of his pending deportation to Uganda and instructed him to report to the ICE facility in Baltimore for a check-in. 

Sandoval-Moshenberg said that Monday’s check-in with ICE was supposed to be an interview but “clearly that was false.”

Sandoval-Moshenberg said the new lawsuit was filed early Monday in the District Court for the District of Maryland challenging Abrego Garcia’s potential removal to the East African country, or any third country, while his immigration case is pending. 

“The fact that they’re holding Costa Rica as a carrot and using Uganda as a stick to try to coerce him to plead guilty to a crime is such clear evidence that they’re weaponizing the immigration system in a matter that is completely unconstitutional,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. 

Trump mass deportations in spotlight

The Supreme Court in April ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia, who was unlawfully deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, his home country.  An immigration judge had granted him removal protections in 2019 because it was likely he would face violence if returned. 

The case has put the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation tactics in the national spotlight as well as the White House’s clash with the judicial branch as the president aims to carry out his plans of mass deportation. 

On Friday, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys moved to dismiss the case against him because of the coordination from Homeland Security and the Justice Department to force a guilty plea from him. 

“There can be only one interpretation of these events,” the lawyers wrote. “The (Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security) and ICE are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego (Garcia) to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat.”

Another judge in Maryland had earlier ruled that ICE must give Abrego Garcia 72 hours of notice before removing him to a third country.  

Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia while he was detained there, criticized the move by the Trump administration to re-deport him to Uganda. 

“The federal courts and public outcry forced the Administration to bring Ábrego García back to Maryland, but Trump’s cronies continue to lie about the facts in his case and they are engaged in a malicious abuse of power as they threaten to deport him to Uganda – to block his chance to defend himself against the new charges they brought,” he said in a Sunday statement. “As I told Kilmar and his wife Jennifer, we will stay in this fight for justice and due process because if his rights are denied, the rights of everyone else are put at risk.”

Maryland Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents the district where Abrego Garcia’s family lives, attended Monday’s rally. He slammed the Trump administration for moving to again deport Abrego Garcia.

“This started with a mistake,” he said. “They knew it was illegal. Instead of acknowledging it and bringing him back, they said, ‘We can’t bring him back.’ They lied.”

The Trump administration repeatedly stated in court that because Abrego Garica was in El Salvador, he was no longer in U.S. custody and could not be brought back despite court orders.

Wrongly deported in March

Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported in March and returned to the U.S. in June to face the charges filed by the Justice Department in May.

While Abrego Garica was at the notorious prison in El Salvador known as El Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT, he detailed how he was beaten and psychologically tortured.

Because of his 2019 deportation protections, the Trump administration either had to challenge the withholding of removal or deport Abrego Garcia to a third country that would accept him. 

His attorneys in the Tennessee case attached the agreement with the government of Costa Rica to accept Abrego Garcia’s removal in Saturday court filings. 

“The Government of Costa Rica intends to provide refugee status or residency to Mr. Abrego Garcia upon his transfer to Costa Rica,” according to the agreement. “The Government of Costa Rica assures the Government of the United States of America that, consistent with that lawful immigration status and Costa Rican law, it does not intend to detain Mr. Abrego Garcia upon his arrival in Costa Rica.”

In that filing, the Trump administration late Thursday agreed to remove Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica if he remained in custody until Monday, pleaded guilty to the DOJ charges and served the sentence imposed.

Selah Torralba, an advocacy manager for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said at Monday’s rally outside the ICE facility that she pushed for Abrego Garcia’s release while he was detained in Tennessee.

“After spending close to three months brutalized in a place that he should never have been sent to begin with, and another three months imprisoned in a state that is not his own, Kilmar was joyfully reunited with his family and children this weekend,” she said. “But it is impossible to celebrate that joy without acknowledging the cruel reality that our communities have known for far too long.”

In an aerial view from a helicopter, the migrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" is seen located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on July 4, 2025 in Ochopee, Florida. (Photo by Alon Skuy/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — As the Trump administration moves to expand immigrant detention centers across the country through state partnerships, more than 60 Democratic lawmakers Wednesday pressed top immigration officials for details regarding a quickly constructed facility in the Florida Everglades, dubbed by Republicans as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

“Brushing aside concerns from human rights watchdogs, environmentalist groups, and Tribal nations, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has greenlit the construction of this expansive detention facility that may violate detained individuals’ human rights, jeopardize public and environmental health, and violate federal law,” according to the letter signed by 65 Democratic members of Congress.

The letter comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tuesday announced a partnership with the state of Nebraska to open a 300-bed federal immigration detention center for its version of “Alligator Alcatraz,” dubbed the “Cornhusker Clink.”

Another facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana, nicknamed the “Speedway Slammer,” is being constructed to hold 1,000 immigrants.

Democrats addressed the letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, DHS Office of Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons and Acting Head of FEMA David Richardson.

DHS did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment regarding the letter from Democrats.

Lawsuits in Florida

As the Trump administration aims to carry out its plans of mass deportations, partnerships with states to detain immigrants for removal are key but are also provoking opposition.

The facility in the Everglades, where state and federal officials aim to detain up to 5,000 immigrants, is currently facing a legal challenge in federal court from immigration advocates over allegations of limited access to attorneys for detainees.

There is also a second lawsuit from environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe to pause construction of the site, arguing it violates federal environmental laws.

“Experts worry this novel state-run immigration detention model will allow Florida to create an ‘independent, unaccountable detention system’ that runs parallel to the federal detention system,” according to the letter.

Other states following Florida’s lead? 

Democrats also expressed concern that the facility in the Everglades would serve as a model for other states.

“Beyond human rights and due process issues, this plan raises serious environmental concerns,” according to the letter.

In the letter, Democrats are asking for information about the legal authority for the state of Florida to construct and operate a migrant detention facility; the agreement between the state and DHS related to the operation of the facility; and measures that are being taken to ensure clean water, food, temperature regulation and medical care are provided for detainees, among other things.

“Human rights experts have condemned the plan as ‘cruel and inhumane’ by design,” according to the letter. “Construction progressed at ‘turbo speed,’ and it remains unclear whether the facility has plans to ensure medical care, rapid hurricane evacuation, access to counsel, and sufficient infrastructure for sewage, running water, and temperature controls, despite being located in one of the ‘hottest parts of the state.’”

Democrats are also seeking inspection reports, environmental review documents and contracts of private vendors that are operating the facility.

The letter asks for a response by Sept. 3.

Democratic senators who signed the letter include: Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden of Oregon, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Tina Smith of Minnesota.

Democratic representatives who signed the letter include: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Kathy Castor, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Frederica S. Wilson, Lois Frankel and Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida; Hank Johnson and Nikema Williams of Georgia; Betty McCollum of Minnesota; Rashida Tlaib and Shri Thanedar of Michigan; Valerie P. Foushee of North Carolina; Chuy García, Bradley Scott Schneider, Delia C. Ramirez, Danny K. Davis, Sean Casten, Mike Quigley and Jonathan L. Jackson of Illinois; Pramila Jayapal, Suzan K. DelBene and Adam Smith of Washington; Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia; Dina Titus of Nevada; Glenn Ivey and Sarah Elfreth of Maryland; Gwen S. Moore of Wisconsin; Luis Correa, Juan Vargas, Mark Takano, Zoe Lofgren, Mike Thompson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, John Garamendi and Jim Costa of California; Janelle S. Bynum, Suzanne Bonamici, Maxine Dexter and Andrea Salinas of Oregon; Yvette D. Clarke, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Paul Tonko and Dan Goldman of New York; Sylvia R. Garcia, Jasmine Crockett and Veronica Escobar of Texas; Wesley Bell and Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri; Summer L. Lee and Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania; Jahana Hayes of Connecticut; Brittany Pettersen of Colorado; Yassamin Ansari of Arizona; Seth Moulton and James P. McGovern of Massachusetts; Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island; and Sarah McBride of Delaware.

U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore toured Wisconsin's only the ICE detention facility and demanded answers about the people being targeted for deportation in the state | Official photos

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore contacted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Friday to ask the agency to remove a statement from the top of its website describing Milwaukee resident Ramón Morales Reyes as “this illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump.” 

The bizarre accusation that Morales Reyes wrote a letter threatening to kill the president has been disproven, and the man who tried to frame him has confessed to forging the letter.

Yet, on Friday, when Moore visited the ICE detention center in Dodge County, Morales Reyes was still there. And the lurid accusation against him is still prominently featured at the top of the Homeland Security website. In the featured statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem thanks the ICE officers who arrested Morales Reyes, promotes the idea that he is a dangerous criminal who poses a grave threat, and promises, “He will remain in ICE custody at Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, pending his removal proceedings.”

Moore held a Zoom press conference after her visit. She described Morales Reyes as a humble, religious man who, incredibly, bears no ill will toward Demetric Scott, the man who has been charged with stabbing and robbing him and who then tried to get him deported so he couldn’t testify as a victim in Scott’s upcoming trial. 

It’s very important that the U.S. government stop spreading misinformation about Morales Reyes and afford him due process, Moore said, not just because of the outrageous injustice of his particular case, but because of what it means more broadly. Morales Reyes is an applicant for a U visa — a type of nonimmigrant status set aside for crime victims who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are cooperating with law enforcement or the government in the investigation and prosecution of crimes.

Scott, the man charged with stabbing Morales Reyes and who has admitted forging the letter that led to his arrest, was trying to short-circuit that cooperation ahead of his trial for a violent armed robbery.

If the government deports Morales Reyes, “it will embolden criminals,” Moore said. It’s critical that the U.S. government protect immigrants who are victims of crimes, like Morales Reyes, because if we don’t, we are abetting the criminals. “That’s the message that we’ll be sending if we deport these individuals,” Moore said. “If you’re some pimp out there, some trafficker, some drug pusher, and you want to find someone to abuse, all you’ve got to do is find an immigrant.”

Coincidentally, on the same Friday afternoon Moore visited Morales Reyes and began her campaign to get the government to stop spreading misinformation about him, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Trump administration officials were finally bringing back Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man they wrongly deported to El Salvador. But, Bondi said, the government is charging Abrego Garcia with a slew of serious crimes including being “a smuggler of humans and women and children.”

We don’t know yet if the federal case against Abrego Garcia will include another ham-fisted attempt to pass off obviously doctored photos of his hands with photoshopped “MS-13”gang tattoos. But the administration that continues to push the discredited claim that Morales Reyes penned a letter threatening to assassinate the president inspires zero trust. 

What a relief, in this awful political climate, to see Moore sticking up for immigrants who are being targeted and terrorized, demanding answers from ICE and doing her best to uphold the rule of law. Moore has also been championing Yessenia Ruano, the beloved Milwaukee teacher’s aid who has a pending application for a T visa as a victim of human trafficking, and has been ordered to self-deport back to El Salvador, where she was victimized. Going back would place her in serious danger and leave her young daughters without a mother. 

“She’s an exceptional asset to the school district where she works, not a threat at all to the community,” Moore said.

A week before her visit with Morales Reyes, Moore was joined by her fellow Wisconsin Democrat, U.S. Rep Mark Pocan, on an unannounced inspection visit to the Dodge County jail, Wisconsin’s only ICE detention facility. Moore went back again Friday because she was initially refused an interview with Morales Reyes.

“We have congressional prerogative to do an unannounced visit” to see what’s going on in ICE detention, Pocan said. “In fact,” he added, “I think [it’s] a requirement, really, morally, to do an unannounced visit to these facilities.” 

When they got to the jail, Pocan and Moore had to explain their oversight prerogative. They presented a letter from the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, and waited an hour to get inside. They expressed appreciation for the sheriff, who let them come in and tour the facility, though they weren’t permitted to talk to any detainees. 

When they tried to contact ICE it was another story. There were no ICE agents present — they only show up to bring in detainees every three weeks, the sheriff told them. When they tried to call the Milwaukee ICE field office, the phone was disconnected. They left messages at the Chicago office that were not returned. Of the roughly 100 immigrant detainees at Dodge, who come from all over the country, they couldn’t find out how many have been arrested in Wisconsin. 

“This is the problem, right?” said Pocan. “ICE treats us all like we don’t deserve to get information, even though we have oversight authority.” 

Part of what bothered Pocan, he said, is “the arrogance that we’ve seen from ICE so far this year.” 

“ICE is acting like they are somehow above the law,” he said, “above lawmakers.” 

It has become abundantly clear that the Trump administration’s rhetoric about targeting dangerous criminals for deportation is utter bunk.

Neither Morales Reyes nor Yessenia Ruano nor Abrego Garcia poses a threat to community safety. The real threat is coming from masked ICE agents terrorizing immigrants and local communities.

We desperately need leaders who will stand up to these terror tactics. That takes guts, as the arrest of Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan showed, as did the Homeland Security agents barging into a congressional office and roughly handcuffing a staffer they accused of letting protesters hide there.

I’m grateful for the courage of Moore and Pocan. 

As they said, if we don’t stand up for the people the Trump administration is targeting now, we will be next.