Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from immigration detention after a federal judge ruled his prior confinement was unlawful, according to Baltimore Chronicle with reference to ABC News. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued an order Thursday stating that “since Abrego Garcia’s wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority.”
Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, confirmed the release to ABC News, noting that the absence of a removal order prevents the government from deporting Abrego Garcia from the United States. “We remain hopeful that this marks a turning point for Mr. Abrego Garcia, who has endured more than anyone should ever have to,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. He added that ensuring Garcia’s safe release and continued access to legal protections is now the primary focus.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, originally from El Salvador, had been living in Maryland with his wife and children before his deportation in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison. This occurred despite a 2019 court order preventing his removal due to the risk of persecution. The Trump administration had alleged he was affiliated with the criminal gang MS-13, claims that Garcia denies. He was later returned to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Following his initial release into his brother’s custody in Maryland pending trial, Garcia was re-detained by immigration authorities and held in a Pennsylvania detention facility. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin criticized the ruling on social media, describing it as “naked judicial activism” and stating the government will continue to contest it in court.
Garcia is required to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement at its Baltimore field office on Friday. Last month, the federal government requested Judge Xinis to lift a ban on deporting Garcia to Liberia, asserting that Liberian authorities provided assurances he would not face persecution or torture.
In her 31-page order granting Garcia’s habeas petition, Judge Xinis reviewed his deportation to El Salvador, return to the U.S. for criminal charges, and subsequent re-detention. She noted that the conditions of his detention could not be reconciled with the intended purpose of holding him to effectuate removal. Xinis also highlighted that Costa Rica had been a viable option for Garcia’s relocation, but the government had rejected it. According to her order, Costa Rica confirmed its offer to grant Garcia residence and refugee status remained firm and unconditional.
The judge additionally instructed that Garcia would receive guidance from the U.S. Pretrial Services Office regarding the release conditions previously imposed in his criminal case. In August, Xinis had blocked the government from deporting Garcia until his habeas case challenging the removals was resolved. “The history of Abrego Garcia’s case is as well known as it is extraordinary,” the judge wrote in her decision.
Earlier we wrote that Ukraine submits revised 20-point peace plan to US amid ongoing drone attacks.
