The Trump administration has sparked fresh controversy by designating Eswatini as the next country of deportation for Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego. The move marks yet another twist in a legal battle that has already taken him across borders and into international headlines.
In an email shared by Abrego’s lawyers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the switch, saying it had dropped Uganda as the planned destination after Abrego claimed he feared persecution there. A DHS official dismissed his fears, noting: “That claim of fear is hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries.” The email then bluntly stated: “Your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.”
Abrego, 30, was born in El Salvador but has no ties whatsoever to Eswatini—a small, landlocked country in southern Africa. He is currently being held in Virginia, awaiting the next step in his case. His situation has been unfolding since March, when US authorities accused him of gang membership and deported him to El Salvador, even though a judge had ordered against it. He was later returned to the US to face charges of transporting migrants illegally, charges he denies. His lawyers argue the prosecution is less about justice and more about retaliation.
The government insists otherwise. DHS has filed documents opposing Abrego’s asylum claim, saying he is linked to the violent gang MS-13, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization. Abrego strongly denies this and points out he has never been charged in any court for gang activity. He previously won protection from deportation to El Salvador after proving he faced real threats there, but his asylum bid was dismissed because it was filed too late.
Abrego’s story is also personal. He first came to the United States in 2011, fleeing gang violence in El Salvador. Over the years, he built a life in Maryland, working as a sheet metal fabricator and raising a family with his wife, their child, and two stepchildren—all US citizens. That life was upended when he was arrested and placed in detention.
His attorneys now accuse the administration of using deportation destinations as a bargaining chip. Court filings show officials once offered to deport him to Costa Rica if he pleaded guilty, but threatened Uganda if he refused. In July, DHS acknowledged it had even flown detainees to Eswatini—individuals it described as “so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.”
The case has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and international observers. The African Union has warned that deportation arrangements like these could destabilize African countries and undermine their sovereignty. For Abrego’s lawyers, the latest order to send him to Eswatini underscores what they call the extremes of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Whether Abrego is ultimately sent to the tiny southern African nation remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: his case has become a symbol of the clash between immigration enforcement and human rights in America’s deportation policies.
