USA – A judge in the United States has ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s immediate release from immigration jail after he was wrongfully deported and returned to the country to face criminal charges. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ruled that Mr. Abrego Garcia had been re-detained “without lawful authority” since his return, allowing him to temporarily return to his Maryland residence.
The Department of Homeland Security criticized the decision, calling it clear judicial activism without a valid legal basis. In the administration’s immigration push, the case has gained prominence. Mr. Abrego Garcia was transferred to El Salvador in March, even though a 2019 court decision forbade his deportation.
Judge Xinis stated in her decision that the government lacked a legitimate removal order, which prevented his deportation at this time. Mr. Abrego Garcia first entered the country illegally as a youngster from El Salvador. He is married to a citizen of the United States and has resided in Maryland for many years. He disputes claims made by the Trump administration that he was a member of the MS-13 gang.
He and three other people were taken into custody by federal immigration authorities in Maryland in 2019. Due to the possibility of gang persecution in his native country, the judge at the time gave him protection from deportation. He was detained in Tennessee on suspicion of people smuggling after being brought back to the United States in June, to which he has entered a not guilty plea.
After that, he was given instructions to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being released into his brother’s custody in Maryland, where he was once again jailed. Abrego Garcia must now abide by the terms of his release from Tennessee and cannot be deported, Judge Xinis stressed. While she was considering his detention challenge, she had first prohibited the authorities from sending him to a third nation.
Additionally, her order disclosed that the government was considering sending him to Ghana, Eswatini, Uganda, and eventually Liberia. The administration declined Costa Rica’s offer to welcome him. Noting that the first three African nations had never been possible choices, Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia, just as Abrego Garcia had never wavered in his commitment to resettle there, the judge wrote that immigration detention cannot be used as punishment or be indefinite.
Liberian authorities are keeping a close eye on the proceedings. Human rights activists in both nations have questioned the agreement that the United States and Liberia had previously signed to permit his deportation. Abrego Garcia would be treated humanely, according to the Liberian authorities. The scheduled deportation to Liberia is now uncertain due to the judge’s decision.
