Federal Judge Rules ICE Cannot Re-Detain Salvadorian Immigrant Kilmar Ábrego García
A federal judge has decisively ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot re-detain Kilmar Ábrego García, a Salvadorian national whose case has become a prominent flashpoint in the ongoing immigration debate across the United States. The ruling, issued on Tuesday by US District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland, states that the 90-day statutory detention period has expired and the government currently possesses no viable plan for his deportation.
Case Background and Mistaken Deportation
Ábrego García, who has an American wife and child and has resided in Maryland for many years, originally entered the United States illegally as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge determined he could not be deported to El Salvador due to credible threats from a gang targeting his family. Despite this ruling, he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last year, a significant administrative error that placed him in immediate danger.
Following substantial public pressure and a subsequent court order, the Trump administration facilitated his return to the United States in June. However, this return was contingent upon securing an indictment against him for human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Administration officials have consistently maintained that he cannot remain in the country.
Judge Xinis's Ruling and Government's Deportation Efforts
In her detailed order, Judge Xinis criticized the government's approach, noting it had made "one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success." She concluded there is no "good reason to believe" removal is likely in the foreseeable future. The government had proposed deporting Ábrego García to several African nations, including Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and Liberia.
Judge Xinis highlighted a critical oversight: the government has "purposely – and for no reason – ignored the one country that has consistently offered to accept Abrego Garcia as a refugee." That country is Costa Rica, which has expressed willingness to accept him and to which he has agreed to go.
Legal Arguments and Attorney's Response
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Ábrego García's attorney, argued in court that immigration detention is not intended as punishment. He emphasized that immigrants can only be detained to facilitate deportation and cannot be held indefinitely without a feasible removal strategy. "Since judge Xinis ordered Mr Ábrego García released in mid-December, the government has tried one trick after another to try to get him re-detained," Sandoval-Moshenberg stated in an email. "In her decision today, she recognized that if the government were truly trying to remove Mr Ábrego García from the United States, they would have sent him to Costa Rica long before today."
This ruling underscores ongoing legal and ethical questions within US immigration enforcement, particularly regarding detention practices and the pursuit of deportation to third countries. The case continues to draw attention as a symbol of broader systemic issues in immigration policy.
