A federal judge has mandated the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported and subsequently returned to the United States to face criminal charges. US District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ruled that Mr. Abrego Garcia was re-detained without lawful authority following his return to the US. This ruling allows him to temporarily return to his home in Maryland.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) criticized the decision, labeling it as "naked judicial activism" and asserting that it lacks any valid legal basis. The case has garnered significant attention amid the government's ongoing crackdown on immigration, particularly after Mr. Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March, which contradicted a 2019 court order that explicitly barred his deportation.
In her ruling, Judge Xinis emphasized that the government did not possess a valid removal order, thereby obstructing any attempts to deport Mr. Abrego Garcia at this time. Mr. Abrego Garcia, who is married to a US citizen and has resided in Maryland for several years, initially entered the US illegally from El Salvador as a teenager. The Trump administration has accused him of being a member of the MS-13 criminal organization, a claim he has vehemently denied.
Mr. Abrego Garcia was arrested in 2019 alongside three other individuals in Maryland, leading to his detention by federal immigration authorities. At that time, Judge Xinis granted him protection from deportation due to the potential of facing gang persecution in his home country. He was later returned to the US in June, where he was arrested and sent to Tennessee to address human smuggling charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
After being released from jail in Tennessee, Mr. Abrego Garcia was placed in the custody of his brother in Maryland. He was subsequently instructed to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where he was taken back into custody. In her recent ruling, Judge Xinis stated that he must adhere to the conditions of his release from Tennessee and cannot be removed from the country at this time.
Judge Xinis initially issued a temporary injunction preventing the government from deporting Mr. Abrego Garcia to a third country while she reviewed his challenge to the detention. In her order, she highlighted that the government had considered removing him to countries such as Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and later Liberia. Additionally, Costa Rica expressed its willingness to accept Mr. Abrego Garcia, but the government did not act on this offer.
In her comprehensive 31-page ruling, Judge Xinis stressed that immigration detention cannot be utilized for punitive measures or be extended indefinitely. She concluded that the initial three African nations had never been viable options for his deportation, while Costa Rica remained steadfast in its commitment to resettle Mr. Abrego Garcia. Ultimately, she argued that whatever rationale existed for his detention, it did not align with the fundamental purpose of timely third-country removal.