A top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is set to testify Thursday about the steps the Trump administration has taken to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the West African country of Liberia, as the Trump administration continues its push to remove him from the U.S. ahead of his criminal trial on human smuggling charges next year.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who is presiding over Abrego Garcia's challenge to the administration's efforts to deport him, had ordered the immigration official, John Cantú, to testify in-person. Cantú is a top official at Enforcement and Removal Operations at ICE and had submitted to the court a declaration about a discussion between the State Department and the Costa Rican government about possibly accepting Abrego Garcia, as well as his potentia

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