A United States(US) judge has blocked immigration authorities from immediately detaining and deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia upon his release from jail. The decision was part of a one-two punch on Wednesday, as two courts weighed in on the Maryland father’s fate. Abrego Garcia was catapulted into the national spotlight in March after the administration of President Donald Trump wrongfully deported him to his native El Salvador, despite a court order protecting him from removal.
US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville upheld the finding that Abrego Garcia could be released from jail, rejecting Trump administration claims that he might be a danger or a flight risk. Crenshaw also expressed doubt about the Trump administration’s claims that Abrego Garcia is a member of the gang MS-13, citing a lack of evidence. “Unfortunately, the government has done little to assure the court that, absent intervention, Abrego Garcia’s due process rights will be protected,” Judge Paula Xinis wrote in her ruling.
The Trump administration has indicated they plan to deport Abrego Garcia to a third-party country if he is released. However, Xinis’s ruling requires that immigration officials give him notice of three business days if they initiate removal proceedings. Xinis also ordered the government to restore the legal status that Abrego Garcia had previously been under, which allowed him to live and work in Maryland.
Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March, in violation of an immigration judge’s 2019 order barring him from being sent back to his home country. His lawyers have maintained that Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador as a teenager to avoid gang threats. The government acknowledged that Abrego Garcia’s removal to El Salvador had been the result of an “administrative error”.
Judge Xinis — and later the US Supreme Court — ultimately ruled that the Trump administration had a responsibility to “facilitate” his return to the US. But the Trump administration doubled down, arguing that Abrego Garcia’s removal was lawful and painting him as a member of MS-13. Trump even posted a picture of himself to social media holding a photo of Abrego Garcia’s knuckles, with the letters and numbers for “MS-13” digitally superimposed on each finger, next to real tattoos of a smiley face and marijuana leaf.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have dismissed the government’s case as “preposterous”. Still, before Xinis’s ruling, the lawyers had requested Abrego Garcia remain in custody as he awaits trial, for fear that he might be immediately deported if released.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security took to the social media platform X on Wednesday to criticise Xinis’s latest ruling. “The fact this unhinged judge is trying to tell ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] they can’t arrest an MS-13 gang member, indicted by a grand jury for human trafficking, and subject to immigration arrest under federal law is LAWLESS AND INSANE,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin wrote, reiterating unproven claims.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, however, applauded Wednesday’s court decisions. “These rulings are a powerful rebuke of the government’s lawless conduct and a critical safeguard for Kilmar’s due process rights,” lawyer Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said in a statement.