Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Alleged MS-13 Gang Member Kilmar Abrego Garcia

A federal judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order preventing immigration officials from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda while she reviews his constitutional claims.U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis announced that she will extend an existing hold on Mr. Abrego Garcia’s removal to thoroughly examine whether the Trump administration is violating his due process rights by attempting to deport him to the African nation despite his claims of potential persecution and torture.The alleged gang member was detained by immigration officials in Baltimore earlier Monday, days after having been released from a jail in Tennessee where he stands accused of transporting illegal immigrants.His legal team immediately filed a federal lawsuit seeking his release and requesting additional time to challenge the proposed deportation to Uganda. Mr. Abrego Garcia remains in custody at a Virginia detention facility, according to his attorney.Judge Xinis made clear that under her new order, the government will be “absolutely forbidden to remove Abrego Garcia from the continental United States.” The judge expressed concerns that deporting him to Uganda could constitute an “end run” around an existing court order that prohibits his return to El Salvador.The timeline for the temporary hold remains uncertain, though it will likely remain in place through the end of the week. Judge Xinis has requested additional written legal briefs from both the Justice Department and Abrego Garcia’s legal team. She also plans to conduct an evidentiary hearing with witness testimony in the coming days.The case highlights ongoing tensions between immigration enforcement priorities and constitutional protections for individuals facing potential persecution in their countries of origin.Mr. Abrego Garcia, who has been at the center of the debate over illegal immigration, addressed supporters at a rally shortly before he surrendered to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at their Baltimore office Monday morning.“This administration has hit us hard, but I want to tell you guys something: God is with us, and God will never leave us,” the 30-year-old Salvadoran national said through a translator. “God will bring justice to all the injustice we are suffering.”Mr. Abrego Garcia’s case has drawn national attention since he was deported to a crowded prison in his native El Salvador in March, despite a judge’s ruling that he had a “well-founded fear” of violence there. After a court order, the administration returned him to the United States in June, only to detain him on what his lawyers describe as “preposterous and vindictive” human smuggling charges.The administration is seeking to deport him months before his scheduled trial in Tennessee, alleging he is a danger to the community and a member of the MS-13 gang — an allegation he denies.The Department of Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, confirmed in a tweet that Mr. Abrego Garcia was being processed for deportation. In response, his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking an emergency order to block his removal.Shortly after he was taken into custody at the Baltimore ICE office, the White House put out a post on social media with a manipulated photo depicting him in a shirt labeled MS-13 with the caption “still not a Maryland dad.” Some mainstream media outlets have described him as a “Maryland father” or a “Maryland resident.”After being released from a Tennessee jail where he was awaiting trial on Friday, Mr. Abrego Garcia briefly reunited with his family in Maryland. But that same day, his lawyers received a 72-hour notice from ICE stating its intent to deport him to Uganda, a country that recently agreed to accept certain deportees from America.The notice came after Mr. Abrego Garcia declined a plea deal that would have sent him to Costa Rica in exchange for admitting guilt to the smuggling charges.In the emergency court filing on Saturday, his lawyers claimed “there can be only one interpretation of these events: the DOJ, DHS, and ICE are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat.”The smuggling charges stem from a 2022 speeding stop in Tennessee. Mr. Abrego Garcia was driving with nine passengers and, despite officers’ suspicions that the passengers were illegal immigrants, was let go with only a warning. He has since pleaded not guilty and requested the case be dismissed on grounds of vindictive prosecution.The White House on Friday reiterated its claims that Mr. Abrego Garcia is a violent gang member.“He will face justice for his crimes. It’s an insult to his victims that this left-wing magistrate intervened to put him back on the streets,” a White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, said in reference to his release from the Tennessee jail.

Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Alleged MS-13 Gang Member Kilmar Abrego Garcia

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