The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has announced an agreement with Liberia to accept Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrigo, whose case has become a symbol of the administration’s hardline immigration policies.
The deportation was initially scheduled to begin on October 31, but a federal judge in Maryland has temporarily halted the order.
Liberia said it agreed to accept Abrigo “for humanitarian reasons and on a temporary basis,” with assurances that he would not be sent to any country where he might face persecution.
Abrigo is accused of belonging to the “MS-13” gang — allegations his lawyers deny — describing the choice of Liberia, a country with which he has no connection, as “punitive and unconstitutional.”
A court in Tennessee is expected to rule in November on the legality of the charges against him, while Costa Rica has expressed willingness to receive him as an alternative to Liberia.
