A leading ICE authorities battled to respond to concerns regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s prospective expulsion throughout an evidentiary hearing on Thursday, and confessed that somebody else assisted prepare his promised affirmation sent in case.
John Cantu was phoned call to indicate regarding why the federal government is not preparing to deport Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica and is rather preparing to eliminate him to the West African country of Liberia.
When pushed by Abrego Garcia’s lawyers regarding the components of the secured affirmation concerning the federal government’s interaction with Costa Rica, their customer’s favored nation of elimination, Cantu stated he did not recognize components of his affirmation.
Abrego Garcia’s legal representatives implicate the federal government of having actually “cycled with” 4 third-country locations– Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and currently Liberia– without offering “the notification, possibility to be listened to and embellished analysis that due procedure calls for.”
After not having the ability to respond to numerous concerns from Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, Cantu stated he obtained “terminology” for his affirmation from a State Division lawyer.
” Resting right here today, you could not inform me whether anybody from the State Division has been in touch with Costa Rica considering that August 21, to identify whether interactions have transformed?” asked Sascha Rand, a lawyer for Abrego Garcia.
” That’s right,” Cantu responded.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia searches as his fans deal with journalism as he comes to a United States Migration and Traditions Enforcement (ICE) area workplace in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 25, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP by means of Getty Pictures
” Mr. Cantu, when you claim Costa Rica is not an alternative for elimination … where does that originated from?” United State Area Court Paula Xinis added.
” Advise,” Cantu stated describing the State Division lawyer.
” The factor has actually been made that this witness understands absolutely no details regarding the web content of the affirmation,” Xinis stated.
Cantu later on confessed he had no participation in Abrego Garcia’s situation before November and stated his only participation was a “5 min Groups call” with the Division of State lawyer.
Abrego Garcia, that had actually been staying in Maryland with his better half and youngsters, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison– in spite of a 2019 court order preventing his expulsion to that nation as a result of be afraid of mistreatment– after the Trump management asserted he belonged to the criminal gang MS-13, which he rejects.
He was reminded the united state in June to encounter human contraband costs in Tennessee, to which he has actually begged blameless. His criminal test is arranged to start in January.
Abrego Garcia’s expulsion is presently obstructed by united state Area Court Paula Xinis pending the resolution of the habeas situation testing his elimination. He is presently in an apprehension facility in Pennsylvania.
His lawyers claim the united state federal government has actually ignored Abrego Garcia’s “legal classification” of Costa Rica, in spite of the nation’s previous guarantees that it would certainly approve him and offer him evacuee or resident standing.
