US judge orders release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from immigration detention

A judge in the United States has ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from immigration detention.

The ruling on Thursday from US District Judge Paula Xinis is the latest turn in the case of Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported by the administration of US President Donald Trump to El Salvador in March.

The Maryland resident was later returned to the US, but the Trump administration has continued to seek his deportation to another country.

“Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” Xinis wrote in her decision. “For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] custody.”

The Department of Homeland Security swiftly condemned the ruling, accusing Xinis of “judicial activism”.

“This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

Abrego Garcia entered the US as a teenager without documentation and has resided in Maryland with his wife and children for years.

An immigration judge in 2019 ruled Abrego Garcia could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family.

The Trump administration’s violation of that order became a rallying point for critics of the president’s mass deportation campaign.

Authorities have since been seeking to deport Abrego Garcia to a series of African countries.

The Maryland resident has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish him due to the attention his wrongful deportation created.

Since his return, federal authorities have also filed charges against Abrego Garcia for alleged human smuggling related to a 2022 traffic stop.

He has pleaded not guilty and filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming the prosecution is vindictive.

In her ruling on Thursday, judge Xinis said Trump lawyers “affirmatively misled” the court, including falsely claiming that Costa Rica had rescinded an offer to accept Abrego Garcia.

Abrego Garcia has said he was willing to resettle to the Latin American country in the event he was successfully deported from the US.

“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,” Xinis wrote.

In a separate proceeding, Abrego Garcia has also petitioned to reopen his immigration case to seek asylum in the US.