Mullin Opens Path to Costa Rica Deportation for Abrego Garcia, Reversing 1-Year Standoff
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 3
Mullin Opens Path to Costa Rica Deportation for Abrego Garcia, Reversing 1-Year Standoff
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 3
Summary
Tuesday’s congressional testimony from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin indicated Kilmar Abrego Garcia could be deported to Costa Rica if he agrees, a sharp shift from the administration’s earlier refusals.
Costa Rica has been Abrego Garcia’s preferred destination for months, and his lawyers have said sending him there would end his long-running legal fight with the Trump administration.
His attorneys quickly filed Mullin’s remarks with Judge Paula Xinis, the Maryland federal judge who has repeatedly pressed the government on why Costa Rica was not an option.
The reversal’s scope remains unclear: Mullin may have changed department policy, or he may have been unaware of prior efforts to deport Abrego Garcia to African countries instead.
Abrego Garcia’s case has become a high-profile test of Trump’s deportation agenda since his wrongful March 2025 expulsion to El Salvador, where he was jailed and said he was tortured.