Kilmar Ábrego García’s long, chaotic legal journey took another dramatic turn after a federal judge in Maryland ordered his immediate release from ICE custody. His case has become a lightning rod in the political fight over Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, drawing national attention and sparking a fierce back-and-forth between the courts and the administration.
Ábrego, a Salvadoran national who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was mistakenly deported in March to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison—even though a 2019 court ruling barred his removal there because of credible fears of persecution. Ábrego says he faced beatings, sleep deprivation, and psychological torture while imprisoned in El Salvador.
Judge Paula Xinis didn’t mince words in her ruling. She said Ábrego had been “wrongfully detained” abroad and then “redetained without lawful authority” once back in the United States. Without a valid removal order, she added, the government simply doesn’t have the legal power to deport him.
His deportation set off months of legal battles. After the mistake was acknowledged, multiple federal judges and even a unanimous Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to return him to the US. He was brought back in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, where he pleaded not guilty.
While awaiting trial, Ábrego was released to his brother’s home in Maryland. Then ICE arrested him again and moved him to a detention center in Pennsylvania. Judge Xinis halted any attempt to deport him in August, but the administration continued pushing to remove him to countries like Liberia, Ghana, Uganda, and Eswatini. None of those attempts stuck.
Xinis said the government even tried to block Ábrego’s preferred destination—Costa Rica—only for Costa Rican officials to publicly confirm they were willing to grant him residence and refugee status.
The judge’s 31-page order walked through the entire saga, concluding that his continued detention had nothing to do with facilitating deportation, which is the only legal basis for holding him. She also ordered the government to give Ábrego the exact time and place of his release and to notify the court the same day.
The decision immediately sparked political backlash. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin blasted the ruling as “naked judicial activism,” insisting the administration will keep fighting in court.
For now, Ábrego will be freed and will receive further instructions from US Pretrial Services about the conditions of his release in the Tennessee criminal case.
His story isn’t just another immigration case. It’s become a symbol of the deeper fight over Trump’s aggressive deportation policies, judicial pushback, and the human cost embedded in the chaos.
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