U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials took a stoic Kilmar Abrego Garcia into custody Monday morning and are preparing to remove him to Uganda.

A little more than an hour before his scheduled check-in with ICE, the Salvadoran native and Beltsville resident stood with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, before a sea of supporters in downtown Baltimore. Flanked by dozens of local lawmakers, religious leaders and advocates, he addressed the media for the first time since he was deported to El Salvador in defiance of a court order in March.

“This administration has hit us hard,” Abrego Garcia told the crowd at the foot of the steps leading to the George H. Fallon Federal Building. “God is with us and God will never leave us. God will bring justice to all the injustice we are experiencing.”

The 30-year-old father of three, who was wrongfully deported and then returned to the U.S. to face criminal charges, was released from pretrial detention in Tennessee and allowed to return to his family in Maryland on Friday.

Almost immediately after his release, ICE notified Abrego Garcia’s legal team that he would have to report to the Baltimore field office Monday and could face deportation after he declined an offer for a plea deal.

In a post on social media platform X Monday, Department of Homeland Security officials wrote that Abrego Garcia “will be processed for removal to Uganda.”

Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, who is representing the family in the ongoing civil case in a federal court in Maryland over his March deportation, told the crowd that a new lawsuit was filed this morning in the federal District Court for the District of Maryland. The new suit is challenging his current confinement as well as deportation to Uganda or any other country until he’s had a fair trial in an immigration court.

“There was no need for them to take him into detention. He was already on electronic monitoring from the U.S. Marshal Service, and basically on house arrest,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him.”

The petition for habeas corpus will be heard by Judge Paula Xinis, the same judge who has overseen the civil case brought by Abrego Garcia’s family when he was deported. A recorded call between the parties is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday afternoon, according to court records.

The case automatically triggers a standing order issued by a different Maryland judge in May meant to temporarily bar ICE from removing an individual “until 4:00 p.m. on the second business day after the filing of the notice, unless the terms of this Order are further extended by the presiding judge.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who has continued pushing for the Maryland man’s day in court, said in a statement he will continue to fight for the right to due process.

“While ICE is holding Kilmar Abrego Garcia and keeping his lawyers in the dark as to what is next for him, Administration officials continue to spread lies about the facts in his case,” Van Hollen said. “Instead of spewing unproven allegations in the press and social media, the Trump Administration needs to put up or shut up in court and allow Mr. Abrego Garcia the opportunity to defend himself.”

ICE and DHS did not immediately respond to a question regarding whether Abrego Garcia, if removed to Uganda, will remain in custody there as he did in El Salvador in March or walk away free.

‘This started with a mistake’

Abrego Garcia’s case has captured international audiences, sparked debate between political parties and brought into question the concept of due process in this country’s judicial system.

“It’s hard to believe that we are still here wagering this fight,” Rep. Glenn Ivey told the crowd in Baltimore. “This started with a mistake.”

Abrego Garcia was sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March, despite a 2019 court order prohibiting his removal to his home country due to a threat of gang persecution. The Trump administration referred to it as an “administrative error.” A Maryland judge ordered the administration to bring him back in April, an order that officials fought back against.

The 2019 court order is known as “withholding of removal,” a status considered in the asylum process and that can be granted if an individual qualifies for protection but not asylum due to an administrative reason. It blocks deportation to a specific country, but leaves open the possibility of removal to a third country that may be willing to accept them.

Van Hollen in April traveled to El Salvador and was able to meet with Abrego Garcia. Ivey later made his own trip but had his access to Abrego Garcia blocked.

In June, Abrego Garcia was brought back to the U.S. but transferred into criminal, pretrial custody in Tennessee. Federal prosecutors allege that he is a gang member and a human trafficker.

Later that month, a judge granted his pretrial release from custody, finding he did not pose a public safety threat or flight risk. That release was delayed for nearly two months at the request of his attorneys after the Trump administration publicly said it would take him into ICE custody and move to deport him if he were released.

On Thursday, the government offered Abrego Garcia assurance that it would remove him to Costa Rica if he agreed to delay his pretrial release, plead guilty to criminal smuggling charges and serve any sentence imposed by the court, according to the filing.

It included a letter from a Costa Rican official stating that the country planned to provide refugee status or residency to him and said it would not send him back to his home country of El Salvador.

He declined the offer.

“He should be in his house this morning not worrying about getting deported somewhere,” Ivey said. “He should be able to get his due process.”

Rally outside ICE field office

Others lined up outside the Fallon building entrance, paperwork in hand, for their own ICE check-ins Monday morning as usual. Some were parents with children, others accompanied by family or friends. Many looked on at the rally; some took photos.

“This could happen to any of us,” said one woman in line who declined to provide her name.

City and state officials attended the rally in support of Abrego Garcia and his family. They said they were saddened and angered by the Maryland man’s case.

Baltimore City Councilwoman Odette Ramos said she became emotional listening to speakers.

“What Kilmar is going through symbolizes the fear that our community is going through right now, and not just our community, the immigrant community,” the Democrat said.

Union leader Jaime Contreras called the administration’s actions “shameful.” Contreras, a military veteran who entered the country undocumented in 1988 from El Salvador, went with Ivey in May on the unsuccessful attempt to meet with Abrego Garcia.

“What do we want?” he yelled to the crowd. “Justice!” they responded.

Andre Powell, a 71-year-old Parkville resident, said he attended the rally because “it is absolutely wrong to deport him anywhere.” Powell, a member of the advocacy group People’s Power Assembly, said he feels “Trump is using this as a showpiece to other immigrants.

“In standing up for Kilmar, we are standing up for all immigrants,” he said, holding a black-and-white sign that read: “End Racism and I.C.E Terror.”

Standing in front of the crowd, Abrego Garcia thanked his family as well as his union, CASA, a Latino advocacy and assistance organization, religious leaders and his legal team.

“I have come to know how the community has stood up with so much support and has hugged me with so much solidarity,” he said. “And I also want to thank God, who has been giving me blessings since day one, to me and to all of my family.”

For the most part, Abrego Garcia was emotionless. When he recalled his time being detained, he began to cry.

“I remembered memories with my family, going to the park with them, going to the trampoline with my children,” he said as he composed himself. “Those moments will continue to give me hope to continue in this fight.”

Religious leaders circled Abrego Garcia and his wife and prayed for them. He looked to the sky for a moment. She wiped away tears before heading up the concrete steps to enter the federal immigration field office.

Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, CASA’s chief of organizing and leadership, was with Abrego Garcia and Vasquez Sura as he was taken into ICE custody.

“Jennifer firmly looked at the officers in the face and said, ‘Remember this moment when you go home and see your kids. You have once again kidnapped my husband’,” Walther-Rodriguez said.

This is a developing story.