Kilmar Abrego García released from federal immigration detention by judge
PHILIPSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego García was released from immigration detention Thursday on a judge’s order as he fights to remain in the United States, delivering a major victory to the immigrant whose wrongful deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release Abrego García immediately, writing that federal authorities had detained him again after his return to the United States without any legal basis.
Abrego García returned to his home in Maryland wearing a white shirt and an orange hat hours after his release at 5 p.m., the deadline the judge gave the government for an update on Abrego García’s release. He has lived for years in Maryland, where he has an American wife and son, since immigrating to the United States illegally as a teenager.
Abrego García had been held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.
His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said he is not sure what comes next but is prepared to defend his client against future deportation attempts.
“The government still has a lot of tools in its toolbox, a lot of tricks up its sleeve,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said, adding that she fully expects the government to take action again to deport her client. “We’re going to be there to fight to ensure there is a fair trial.”
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The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge’s decision and vowed to appeal, calling the ruling “naked judicial activism” by a judge appointed during the Obama administration.
“This order has no valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in court,” said Tricia McLaughlin, deputy secretary of the department.
Sandoval-Moshenberg said the judge made clear that the government cannot detain someone indefinitely without legal authority and that her client “has endured more than anyone should have to endure.”
An immigration judge ruled in 2019 that Abrego García, a Salvadoran citizen, could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger from a gang that attacked his family. When he was mistakenly sent there in March, his case became a rallying point for those who oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.
A court later ordered his return to the United States. Since he cannot be deported to El Salvador, ICE has been trying to deport him to a number of African countries. Their federal lawsuit claims that the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish Abrego García for the public embarrassment caused by his deportation.
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In his order releasing Abrego García, Xinis wrote that federal authorities “not only hindered” the court, “but affirmatively misled the court.” The judge was referring to the successive list of four African countries to which officials had sought to remove Abrego García, apparently without commitments from those countries, as well as the officials’ claims that Costa Rica withdrew its offer to accept him, a claim later proven false.
“But Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego García, just as Abrego García never wavered in its commitment to resettle there,” the judge wrote.
Xinis also rejected the government’s argument that she lacked jurisdiction to intervene in a final order of deportation for Abrego García, because she found that no final order had been filed.
On the other hand, Abrego García is asking an immigration court to reopen his case so he can apply for asylum in the United States.
He is also criminally charged in Tennessee, where he pleaded not guilty to human trafficking. He has asked the federal court to dismiss the case, arguing that prosecutors are vindictive. His defense attorney in Tennessee, Sean Hecker, declined to comment.
A judge in that case ordered an evidentiary hearing after previously finding some evidence that the charges “may be vindictive.” The judge also highlighted several statements from Trump administration officials that “raise cause for concern,” including a statement from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that appeared to suggest that the Justice Department charged Abrego García because he won his wrongful deportation case.
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Loller reported from Nashville and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. News reporters Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.