Annapolis, Maryland - Attorneys working for President Donald Trump's administration told a federal judge that the Department of Homeland Security intends to deport Kilmar Abrego García to Liberia.

Despite a new agreement for Costa Rica to accept undocumented migrants who cannot be returned to their home country, US federal judge Paula Xinis was told on Tuesday that Washington plans to deport Abrego García to Liberia.

DHS has floated the plan on multiple occasions over recent months, but has faced accusations that deporting the Salvadoran man to Liberia would be vindictive and unlawful.

Abrego García has said that if he must be deported, he would prefer to be sent to Costa Rica, a country which has already agreed to accept him. The administration has indicated it has no intention of sending him there.

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Critics have called out the deportation threats as an attempt by the DHS to seek retribution against Abrego García, whose case has drawn widespread public attention to Trump's brutal deportation campaign.

After being unlawfully deported to El Salvador last year, Xinis ruled that the US government must "facilitate" his return to the US in April 2025. Following his return, Xinis has overseen legal proceedings.

In February, she called the Trump administration's attempt to deport Abrego García "one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success."

This is a reference not only to threats from the DHS to send him to Liberia, but previous claims that they would deport him to Uganda.

On Tuesday, Xinis asked why the Trump administration wants to deport Abrego García to Liberia rather than Costa Rica, which seemed the best option if he is not allowed to remain in the US.

In response, the Department of Justice said that Abrego García could "remove himself" to Costa Rica.