Judge to Decide Whether ICE can Re-Detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia

GREENBELT, Md. – A federal judge will decide whether ICE can re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Garcia has been free from immigration custody for just over a week.

USCIS released Abrego on Dec. 11. following U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’ ruling that the government had detained him “without lawful authority.” “This is an extremely irregular and extraordinary situation,” Xinis told attorneys.

Judge Xinis stated that the government did not issue a formal order of removal during his immigration proceedings in 2019. A judge additionally prohibited the government from deporting him to El Salvador because of Abrego’s fear of persecution.

In August, ICE placed Abrego Garcia under immigration detention. During that time, the government stated it planned to deport him to different countries. Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and Liberia are among the list.

Garcia has agreed to go to Costa Rica. Despite the suggestion, Officials have made no attempts to deport him.

Additionally, Judge Xinis accuses the government of misleading her, claiming that officials reported to her that Costa Rica was unwilling to accept him.

The administration’s “persistent refusal to acknowledge Costa Rica as a viable removal option, their threats to send Abrego Garcia to African countries that never agreed to take, and their misrepresentation to the Court that Liberia is now the only country available to Abrego Garcia, all reflect that whatever purpose behind his detention, it was not for the ‘basic purpose’ of timely third-country removal,” Xinis said in a statement.

Abrego Garcia immigrated to the U.S. illegally from El Salvador as a teenager. He has an American wife and shares a child with her. He’s lived in Maryland for several years.

“If there is no final order of removal, immigration proceedings are ongoing, and Petitioner is subject to pre-final order detention,” government attorneys stated.

Other than the Maryland case, Garcia is also facing human smuggling charges in a Tennessee court.