Mullin says US would be 'happy to send' Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said during testimony Tuesday that the agency "will be happy to send" Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica -- contradicting what DHS officials and Department of Justice attorneys have said in court for months.

Abrego Garcia's attorneys included Mullin's statement in a court filing made Wednesday to the judge overseeing his immigration case, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who has repeatedly pressed the administration on why it is pursuing Abrego Garcia's removal to the West African nation of Liberia instead of Costa Rica, which Abrego Garcia has indicated is his preferred destination if he were to be deported.

Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March of last year to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison -- despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution -- after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he denies.

He was brought back to the U.S. last June to face human smuggling charges, which were subsequently dismissed last month after the judge in that case found the government was unable to refute Abrego Garcia's contention that he had been vindictively prosecuted.

Government officials in Costa Rica have said they would be willing to provide Abrego Garcia with refugee status or residency if deported.

"I'm going to ask you about Kilmar Abrego Garcia," Sen. Chris Van Hollen asked Mullin during his appearance Tuesday before Senate Appropriations Committee. "Are you aware of the fact that in that case, he has agreed to be removed to Costa Rica and that Costa Rica has agreed to accept him?"

"No, I'm not, senator," Mullin said.

When Van Hollen said again that Abrego Garcia would be willing to go to Costa Rica if removed, Mullin said, "Great, if he's willing to do that, we'll be happy to send him."

At a court hearing in Maryland last month, a DOJ attorney -- when pressed by Xinis on why it refuses to designate Costa Rica as the country of removal -- argued that the DHS has the discretion to disregard an individual's preferred country of removal.

"He elected Costa Rica, you're not having it," Xinis said last month. "You're insisting on Liberia -- it's punitive."

Judge Xinis has currently barred the government from removing Abrego Garcia from the United States.