A federal judge ordered Friday that immigration officials could not re-detain Kilmar Ábrego García, just hours after his release from an immigration detention center in Pennsylvania.
Dozens of people rallied around Ábrego García early Friday morning as he appeared at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore for a check-in.
“I stand before you as a free man,” Ábrego García said in Spanish. “I want you to remember me this way, with my head held up high.”
The last time Ábrego García walked through the ICE office doors in Baltimore, in late August, he was taken into custody. He’s been held in immigration detention ever since, and officials have searched for a country to deport him to, including several in Africa.
It’s the latest twist in the legal battle between President Donald Trump’s administration and Ábrego García, a case that has become a flash point in the national fight over immigration enforcement. The Salvadoran national and Beltsville resident has been battling for his freedom since he was erroneously deported to El Salvador in March.
He was released from ICE detention at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center on Thursday after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered that Ábrego García be immediately released. Xinis said in her 31-page opinion that the federal government could not provide Ábrego García’s official removal order, so there was no legal authority to detain or deport him.
On Friday morning, Xinis reaffirmed her previous order prohibiting Ábrego García’s removal until the case before her is settled. She set deadlines for further written arguments from both sides for early next week.
The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized Xinis’ Thursday order and vowed to appeal, calling the ruling “naked judicial activism” by a judge appointed during the Obama administration.
“This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary.
Trump administration officials have accused Ábrego García of being a gang member, and they have brought criminal charges against him in Tennessee for allegedly smuggling migrants, according to court records.
Ábrego García was picked up by his legal team just before 5 p.m. and taken back to Maryland, his attorney said Thursday, and he was able to reunite with family.
Ahead of his check-in Friday morning, Ábrego García was visibly emotional, at times tearing up as advocates and lawmakers spoke to the crowd. U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey called the Trump administration’s behavior shameful.
“He’s here today because the judge stood up in Greenbelt and said he should be here,” Ivey said. “Kilmar, welcome home. You’re going to get to stay this time.”
Before entering the ICE field office building, Ábrego García urged the crowd to “keep fighting.”
“Regardless of this administration, I believe this is a country of laws, and I believe that this injustice will come to its end,” he said in Spanish.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Ábrego García’s attorney, said that the legal team worked late Thursday night to prevent Ábrego García’s arrest at the field office on Friday, but added that he expects more challenges from the Trump administration.
Ábrego García emerged from the ICE office an hour after he entered, something his team wasn’t able to achieve in August.
Winding legal battle
The 30-year-old father of three was wrongfully deported in March to El Salvador, despite a 2019 court order that prohibited his removal to the Central American country due to the threat of gang persecution.
The move prompted outcry from the public and politicians, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who visited Ábrego García when he was in detention in El Salvador. Ábrego García was brought back to the U.S. in June but was transferred into pretrial custody in Tennessee, where he faces felony smuggling charges. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In August, he was released from pretrial detention in Tennessee and allowed to return to Maryland and visit with his family. Days later, he was summoned to the ICE field office in Baltimore and taken into custody. He was eventually moved to the detention center in Pennsylvania until his release on Thursday.
Thursday evening, acting Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Philip Taylor issued a ruling correcting what he referred to as a clerical error in Ábrego García’s record, stating that a removal order to El Salvador was “erroneously omitted” when he was granted protection in 2019.
Typically, an order withholding a person’s removal comes only after or in conjunction with a separate deportation order.
Taylor, formerly a judge in Atlanta’s immigration court, issued the ruling sua sponte, a legal term that means neither side motioned the court for such a ruling.
“Although the parties have not raised this issue with the Immigration Court throughout the past five years of litigation in this matter, the Immigration Court will take this opportunity now to correct that scrivener’s error,” Taylor wrote.
In a court filing early Friday, Sandoval-Moshenberg called the removal order “manufactured” and argued that Taylor lacked jurisdiction. There was no court hearing on the matter.
What’s next for Ábrego García
It’s not clear what comes next for Ábrego García: He could file for asylum, or the federal government could appeal the order, which federal officials on Thursday promised to do.
Xinis’ decision yesterday marked a win for Ábrego García in a contentious legal battle with the Trump administration that’s lasted nearly nine months.
Ábrego García still faces felony smuggling charges in the criminal court case in Tennessee. The next hearing has been delayed to late January.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw said in October that there was a “realistic likelihood” that this criminal prosecution had vindictive motives. If proven true, the case could be dismissed.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.