US judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release from ICE custody
A judge ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported in March and brought back to the United States to face criminal charges, from immigration detention.
“Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been detained again, again without legal authorization,” Judge Paula Xinis wrote in her order.
Mr. Abrego Garcia was sent to a prison in El Salvador earlier this year, which the US government later admitted was a mistake. He was returned to the United States to face human trafficking charges and has been detained since.
Judge Xinis also wrote that the government had not issued an expulsion order, which prevents it from deporting Mr. Abrego Garcia “at this point.”
The Trump administration claims that Mr. Abrego Garcia is a member of the violent criminal gang MS-13, which he denies. This spring, the administration flew a large group of migrants it said were part of the gang to CECOT prison in El Salvador. But an earlier court ruling had barred the United States from sending Mr. Abrego Garcia to the country.
Mr. Abrego Garcia also pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges, which are part of a trial in Tennessee.
Judge Xinis, hearing his deportation challenge in federal court in Maryland, said he must now follow the terms of his release from prison in Tennessee.
