A federal judge on Dec. 11 ordered immigration officials to immediately release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national who was wrongfully deported in March and later brought back to the U.S. He has been held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since August while facing federal smuggling charges, The Hill reported.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland ruled that Abrego Garcia must be freed from the ICE detention center, citing the lack of a final removal order — the legal document obtained from an immigration court required for deportation.
“Because Abrego Garcia has been held in ICE detention to effectuate third-country removal absent a lawful removal order, his requested relief is proper,” Xinis wrote in her 31-page opinion.
She asked the government for an update by 5 p.m. Dec. 11.
The ruling allows Abrego Garcia — who entered the country illegally nearly 15 years ago — to return to his Maryland home while he awaits what could become a second deportation.
The case has drawn national attention because ICE deported Abrego Garcia to a Salvadoran prison in March despite a 2019 court order that barred deportation to his home country because of threats he faced from gangs there, according to court documents. The Hill reported that the Trump administration later called the deportation an “administrative error.”
The Supreme Court in April ordered the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, which occurred in June. Federal agents then rearrested him on human smuggling charges. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. The administration has also accused him of ties to the violent MS-13 gang, which he rejects.
According to The Hill, the administration has discussed sending Abrego Garcia to an African country, but he argues he should be deported to Costa Rica instead.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) criticized the Dec. 11 decision, framing it as an example of judicial activism.
“This is naked judicial activism by an Obama appointed judge,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X. “This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.”
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