An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent said it has not yet been decided where Kilmar Abrego Garcia will be deported if released from a Tennessee jail, but Mexico and South Sudan could be alternatives.

Thomas Giles, an assistant director for ICE, reiterated in a Maryland federal court that the man would be detained immediately should he be released from the jail, in which he stays while waiting a trial on human smuggling charges.

Abrego Garcia could be released as soon as next Wednesday, The Associated Press reported on Thursday. However, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis is considering a request by his lawyers to send him to Maryland, a move that seeks to prevent his deportation.

Abrego Garcia, a longtime Maryland resident, was deported to El Salvador in March in violation of a 2019 immigration court order that protected him from removal to that country due to a credible fear of persecution.

He was returned to the U.S. in June after a Supreme Court order and is now in pretrial detention in Tennessee on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop. His attorneys argue that the Trump administration is trying to deport him before trial to avoid legal scrutiny.

The government described the March deportation earlier this week as a “one-off mistake” despite previously claiming it had been deliberate. Meanwhile, Abrego Garcías leagl team recently detailed the abuse he allegedly endured during a three-week detention at El Salvador’s CECOT prison, including being ordered to kneel for nine hours straight and prevented from going to the bathroom.

Abrego Garcia has denied any gang affiliation, including to MS-13, and pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges.

In another passage of the hearing, an attorney for Abrego Garcia asked the ICE agent how he would be treated in Mexico or South Sudan. “We’re not going to send people to a country where they’re going to get persecuted or tortured,” Giles said.

However, White House border czar Tom Homan said this week he is not sure about the status or whereabouts of eight men recently deported to South Sudan, claiming they are no longer in U.S. custody.

“When we sign these agreements with all these countries, we make arrangements to make sure these countries are receiving these people and there’s opportunities for these people. But I can’t tell if we remove somebody to Sudan — they can stay there a week and leave. I don’t know,” Homan said.

Border Czar Tom Homan stated that immigrants who have been deported to South Sudan are no longer in United States custody, and that he doesn’t know if they are being detained there.

Homan appeared on POLITICO’s “The Conversation,” speaking to host Dasha Burns about the Trump administration’s immigration agenda and the deportation of migrants to South Sudan.

“One thing that the administration has been fighting is with the courts on whether they can deport people who enter the country illegally to countries other than their home nations. In the cases of individuals who have been sent to South Sudan, for example, what happens to them now that they’re there? Are they still considered to be in U.S. custody? Or is it now totally up to South Sudan what happens to them?” Burns asked.

“As far as we’re concerned, they’re free. And we’re working with those governments. They’re no longer in our custody, they’re living in [South] Sudan. And will they stay in [South] Sudan? I don’t know,” Homan responded.

“When we sign these agreements with all these countries, we make arrangements to make sure these countries are receiving these people and there’s opportunities for these people. But I can’t tell if we remove somebody to [South] Sudan — they can stay there a week and leave. I don’t know,” he added.

“Do you know if they’re being detained there? Are they in jail? Or are they walking around looking to build a life in South Sudan or going wherever they want to go to from there?”

“I don’t know the specifics of the case. If they land in [South] Sudan, they’re a public safety threat. I’m sure [South] Sudan is looking at their case and finding out what action they want to take. But, you know, there’s like a hundred different endings to this. I just don’t know, on every specific case, what their status is,” Homan responded.

Attorneys and groups advocating on behalf of migrants have raised issues with deportations to places like South Sudan and El Salvador, nations where many deportees are being sent despite not hailing from.

“When you’ve got countries that won’t take their nationals back, and they can’t stay here, we find another country willing to accept them,” Homan said, adding that they may not send people to every country that agrees to accept migrants, but want to ensure the tool is available.

“If there is a significant public threat or national security threat — there’s one thing for sure — they’re not walking the streets of this country. We’ll find a third, safe nation to send them to, and we’re doing it,” he continued.

The wife of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton announced Thursday that she had filed for divorce on “biblical grounds,” accusing him in a court filing of committing adultery. That may have come as a surprise to those who know the Texas AG only by the image he projects of a family man guided by Christian values—but it definitely shouldn’t have!

If you’re unaware of Paxton’s backstory, a quick recap: In September 2018, Paxton reportedly gathered his staff to tell them, with his wife, Angela Paxton, by his side, that he’d had an extramarital affair. At the time, according to The Texas Tribune, he “said it was over and swore to recommit to his marriage” but in fact did not. The continued affair, Texas House impeachment managers later claimed, “set off a chain of alleged crimes and cover-ups,” and during a 2023 impeachment trial, he was accused of using his office to help a donor in exchange for assistance in covering up the relationship. While Paxton was ultimately acquitted by the State senate, his lawyers did not dispute the affair allegations.

All of which suggests that the “recent discoveries” cited by Angela Paxton on Thursday must have been really bad!

X content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

In a post on X, the communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee wrote: “What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting. No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time.” A spokesperson for Paxton did not immediately respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.

For his part, Paxton—who is hoping to unseat Senator John Cornyn in Texas’s March 2026 primary elections—did not deny his wife of 38 years’ accusation. On X, he only spoke of a “new chapter,” saying: “After facing the pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny, Angela and I have decided to start a new chapter in our lives. I could not be any more proud or grateful for the incredible family that God has blessed us with, and I remain committed to supporting our amazing children and grandchildren. I ask for your prayers and privacy at this time.”

Unfortunately for Paxton, he is unlikely to get the privacy he’s asked for. The alleged adultery will likely feature heavily in Cornyn’s campaign. To date, polling has not looked great for the sitting senator, but that could all change if more damning information emerges re: the “biblical grounds” on which Angela Paxton is seeking to end her marriage. Cornyn’s allies have already begun boosting the news on social media. On Thursday, a National Republican Senatorial Committee staffer reposted a photo of Cornyn and his wife that the senator shared on their 2022 anniversary, and a former Texas state representative called Paxton “morally unfit to hold office.”

Border czar Tom Homan said the Trump administration is looking for more countries to send undocumented immigrants, as part of its inhumane policy of third country deportations.

During an interview with Politico’s Dasha Burns, Homan said the government plans to make deals with “many countries” to exile migrants and noncitizens there, indicating that there were other “signed agreements” in place but declining to say with whom.

“When you’ve got countries that won’t take their nationals back, and they can’t stay here, we find another country willing to accept them,” Homan said.

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This week, Trump met with the leaders of five African countries, including Liberia, Gabon, Mauritania, and Senegal, which appeared on a list of 51 countries the government has asked to accept deportees. Already, at least seven countries have agreed to accept people swept up by the Trump administration’s massive deportation scheme. Trump said that the African summit was to focus on “commercial opportunities,” and a trade deal could include such an agreement.

Last month, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to set immigrants adrift in random countries where they have no connections, dealing a severe blow to the rule of law by effectively rewarding the White House for violating court orders opposing third country deportations.

Homan also revealed that he does not know the status of the eight men who were deported and then cruelly held by ICE in a shipping container in South Sudan.

“They’re living in Sudan. And will they stay in Sudan? I don’t know,” Homan said. “When we sign these agreements with all these countries, we make arrangements to make sure these countries are receiving these people and there’s opportunities for these people. But I can’t tell if we remove somebody to Sudan—they can stay there a week and leave. I don’t know.”

The Trump administration had previously ignored rulings from federal judges not to carry out deportations to South Sudan, which is in the midst of violence and political unrest, with the State Department warning Americans not to visit.

Nearly six months into his tenure as the White House’s “border czar,” Tom Homan has made a great many controversial public comments, about everything from due process to prosecuting news organizations to his curious focus on Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

But we’re often reminded that his rhetorical record is still growing.

In his latest Fox News appearance, Homan said: “Look, people need to understand, ICE officers and Border Patrol don’t need probable cause to walk up to somebody, briefly detain them, and question them. They just need totality of the circumstances, right? They just go through the observation, get our typical facts — based on the location, the occupation, their physical appearance, their actions.”

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NBC News reported earlier this year about concerns related to racial profiling as part of the Trump’s administration immigration raids, and hearing the White House border czar talk about ICE agents being able to detain people based on “their physical appearance” will likely make those concerns worse.

What’s more, Homan’s on-air comments sparked quick pushback from Capitol Hill. Rep. Daniel Goldman said via Bluesky that the border czar’s assessment was “patently false.”

The New York Democrat added, “DHS has authority to question and search people coming into the country at points of entry. But ICE may not detain and question anyone without reasonable suspicion — and certainly not based on their physical appearance alone. This lawlessness must stop.”

Complicating matters, this was not Homan’s only notable quote from the last 24 hours. He also spoke with Politico and talked up the idea of reaching new agreements on third-party deportations. “When you’ve got countries that won’t take their nationals back, and they can’t stay here, we find another country willing to accept them,” Homan said.

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As part of the same interview, Politico noted the recent Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for eight men to be deported to South Sudan. The border czar said he was unsure of the status of the eight men — or whether they are detained there — saying that they are no longer in U.S. custody.

“They’re living in Sudan. And will they stay in Sudan? I don’t know,” he said. “When we sign these agreements with all these countries, we make arrangements to make sure these countries are receiving these people and there’s opportunities for these people. But I can’t tell if we remove somebody to Sudan — they can stay there a week and leave. I don’t know.”

This report has been updated with Rep. Goldman’s reaction to Homan’s comments.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com