Kilmar Abrego Garcia has a reason to smile after a federal judge in Maryland ordered his immediate release on Thursday. The latest ruling marks a significant turning point for the Salvadoran man whose mistaken deportation put him at the center of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration tactics. The decision allows him to remain free while he continues his legal battle to stay in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release Abrego Garcia without delay, concluding that the government had no lawful basis for detaining him again after he was returned to the country. His legal team confirmed that he walked out of custody shortly before the court-imposed deadline of 5 p.m.
Abrego Garcia plans to return to Maryland, where he has lived for years with his American wife and child, after entering the country illegally as a teenager. Prior to his release, he had been held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in rural Pennsylvania, roughly 115 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
READ ALSO: The U.S. wants a judge’s approval to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia
His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said he expects continued legal challenges ahead but is prepared for another round of litigation. “The government still has plenty of tools in their toolbox, plenty of tricks up their sleeve,” he said. He added that he anticipates further attempts to deport his client and vowed to fight for a fair process. “We’re going to be there to fight to make sure there is a fair trial.”
The Department of Homeland Security responded by denouncing the ruling and promising an appeal. The agency characterized the judge’s decision as politically motivated. “This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary.
Sandoval-Moshenberg countered that the ruling emphasized a basic legal principle: the government cannot hold someone indefinitely without authority. He said his client “has endured more than anyone should ever have to.”
Abrego Garcia’s case has been fraught with complications for years. In 2019, an immigration judge determined he could not be returned to El Salvador because a gang posed a threat to his life and had previously targeted his family. Nonetheless, a mistaken deportation in March sent him directly into the danger he had been legally shielded from, sparking national criticism of the administration’s enforcement practices.
After a court ordered his return to the United States, ICE sought to deport him to several African nations instead of El Salvador. His federal lawsuit argues that officials attempted to use the removal process as retaliation for the embarrassment caused by his wrongful deportation.
Judge Xinis criticized the government’s conduct, stating that immigration authorities “did not just stonewall” the court. “They affirmatively misled the tribunal,” she wrote, pointing to four different African countries that ICE proposed for removal without firm agreements and to claims that Costa Rica had backed away from accepting him. According to the court, that assertion was false. “But Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia, just as Abrego Garcia never wavered in his commitment to resettle there,” she wrote.
Her decision also rejected the government’s argument that she lacked jurisdiction, concluding that no final removal order was in effect.
Separately, Abrego Garcia has asked an immigration court to reopen his case so he can pursue asylum in the United States. He is also facing criminal charges in Tennessee for human smuggling and has pleaded not guilty, AP reported. His attorney there, Sean Hecker, has argued that the prosecution is retaliatory. A judge overseeing that case has ordered an evidentiary hearing after finding indications that the charges “may be vindictive.” The judge cited statements from Trump administration officials, including one from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, that suggested the Justice Department pursued charges because Abrego Garcia prevailed in his wrongful deportation case.
READ ALSO: U.S. plans to send Abrego Garcia to Liberia by Oct. 31 despite legal battle
