In a significant judicial ruling, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has mandated the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from immigration detention, declaring his continued confinement without legal authority. The decision marks a dramatic development in a case involving mistaken deportation and subsequent repatriation.
Mr. Abrego Garcia was initially deported to El Salvador in March and incarcerated in CECOT prison under the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. The U.S. government subsequently acknowledged this deportation as erroneous and returned him to the United States to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, where he has remained detained pending trial.
Judge Xinis’s ruling emphatically stated that since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been ‘re-detained, again without lawful authority.’ The court found that the government lacks a valid removal order, thereby preventing any potential deportation proceedings at this time.
The case intersects with broader immigration policy controversies, as the Trump administration contends Abrego Garcia maintains affiliations with the MS-13 criminal organization—an allegation he consistently denies. This spring, administration officials transported numerous migrants accused of gang affiliations to Salvadoran prisons, despite existing court orders specifically prohibiting Abrego Garcia’s transfer to El Salvador.
While separate criminal proceedings regarding human smuggling charges continue in Tennessee—where Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty—Judge Xinis determined that his immigration detention lacked legal justification. The federal court in Maryland handling his deportation challenge has ordered his release under conditions set by the Tennessee court overseeing his criminal case.