A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, marking the latest development in a protracted legal battle over his wrongful deportation earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis wrote that "Abrego Garcia's case demands judicial intervention," concluding that his continued detention lacked legal basis. "Since Abrego Garcia's return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority," she wrote. "For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia's Petition for immediate release from ICE custody."
Xinis also said in the court filing that because immigration officials have been unable to secure a lawful destination for removal, continued detention is improper. "Because Abrego Garcia has been held in ICE detention to effectuate third-country removal absent a lawful removal order, his requested relief is proper," she wrote, adding that the administration's "conduct over the past months belie that his detention has been for the basic purpose of effectuating removal."
The Justice Department must update the court on his release by 5 p.m. Thursday. The order does not affect the separate criminal human smuggling case pending against him in Tennessee, where he remains under strict pretrial release conditions, including home confinement in Maryland, electronic monitoring, and limits on travel.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who has lived in the United States for nearly 15 years, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March despite a court order protecting him from being returned there.
He was brought back to the United States in June after the Supreme Court declined to intervene in his case, and he later pleaded not guilty to federal smuggling charges in Nashville. After a Tennessee judge allowed his release, ICE immediately detained him again and pursued removal to several third countries.
Court filings show the administration proposed deporting him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, or Liberia, though none had formally agreed to receive him. Xinis wrote that officials showed "inexplicable reluctance" to send him to Costa Rica despite evidence the country was willing to accept him. When the court sought further explanation, Xinis said her orders "were ignored without justification."
The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the ruling through spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin on X:
"This is naked judicial activism by an Obama appointed judge. This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts."
This is naked judicial activism by an Obama appointed judge. This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts. https://t.co/HofO0X8S7o
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) December 11, 2025
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