A federal judge on Tuesday barred the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia back into federal immigration custody.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, appointed to the bench in Maryland by President Barack Obama, ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents cannot re-detain Abrego Garcia due to his 90-day detention period expiring and the Trump administration ostensibly having no concrete plan to remove him from the United States, according to court documents. The order marks a major win for the illegal migrant, who has been resisting deportation since his return from his home country of El Salvador.
“Although Respondents released Abrego Garcia pursuant to this Court’s Order, they also appeared to make speedy plans to re-detain him, in violation of certainly the spirit, if not the letter, of that decision,” Xinis stated in her order.
“Respondents are ENJOINED from taking Petitioner Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia into ICE custody,” the Obama judge continued. “Respondents SHALL immediately transmit this Order to all relevant officers, agents, and employees under their control and who are involved in this matter and in the Tennessee Criminal Matter.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Abrego Garcia, who is accused of being an MS-13 gang member and a repeat wife beater, has been battling the Trump administration in the courtroom since his deportation to El Salvador in March and subsequent return to the U.S. Federal prosecutors wish to seek his permanent removal from the country.
While Abrego Garcia has expressed a willingness to be deported to Costa Rica, the Trump administration has insisted on sending him to the African country of Liberia, according to court documents. He was returned to the U.S. to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, with those legal proceedings still underway.
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