BALTIMORE (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation helped galvanize opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration policies, was released from immigration detention on Thursday, and a judge has temporarily blocked any further efforts to detain him.
Abrego Garcia currently can’t be deported to his home country of El Salvador thanks to a 2019 immigration court order that found he had a “well-founded fear” of danger there. However, the Trump administration has stated he cannot stay in the U.S. Recent months have seen government officials suggest deportation plans to countries such as Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and most recently, Liberia.
As he continues to fight his deportation in federal court in Maryland, Abrego Garcia's attorneys argue that the administration is manipulating the immigration system to punish him for successfully challenging his earlier deportation.
Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen located in Maryland with an American wife and child, immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager to join family. He was initially granted protection against deportation in 2019, but was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year. Upon being returned to the U.S., he dealt with a human smuggling arrest warrant, resulting in over two months in a Tennessee jail.
Following an unprecedented legal journey, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled in his favor, stating that procedural errors in his immigration case led to his detainment without a legitimate removal order in place. Although the judge initially agreed to a withholding of removal to El Salvador, the required preliminary removal order was never issued, leaving Garcia in a legal gray area.
Despite his release, Garcia still faces repercussions from both ongoing immigration proceedings as well as a human smuggling case stemming from a past traffic stop. His attorneys remain apprehensive of renewed detention as they await the next court hearings, which may include appeals from the government regarding Xinis’ order. The perceived mistreatment by authorities and the climate created by the Trump administration has led to significant concerns about punitive actions against immigrants like Garcia as they seek basic legal protections.
Abrego Garcia currently can’t be deported to his home country of El Salvador thanks to a 2019 immigration court order that found he had a “well-founded fear” of danger there. However, the Trump administration has stated he cannot stay in the U.S. Recent months have seen government officials suggest deportation plans to countries such as Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and most recently, Liberia.
As he continues to fight his deportation in federal court in Maryland, Abrego Garcia's attorneys argue that the administration is manipulating the immigration system to punish him for successfully challenging his earlier deportation.
Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen located in Maryland with an American wife and child, immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager to join family. He was initially granted protection against deportation in 2019, but was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year. Upon being returned to the U.S., he dealt with a human smuggling arrest warrant, resulting in over two months in a Tennessee jail.
Following an unprecedented legal journey, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled in his favor, stating that procedural errors in his immigration case led to his detainment without a legitimate removal order in place. Although the judge initially agreed to a withholding of removal to El Salvador, the required preliminary removal order was never issued, leaving Garcia in a legal gray area.
Despite his release, Garcia still faces repercussions from both ongoing immigration proceedings as well as a human smuggling case stemming from a past traffic stop. His attorneys remain apprehensive of renewed detention as they await the next court hearings, which may include appeals from the government regarding Xinis’ order. The perceived mistreatment by authorities and the climate created by the Trump administration has led to significant concerns about punitive actions against immigrants like Garcia as they seek basic legal protections.
