A court has ordered the immediate discharge of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from detention by ICE, finding his ongoing detainment is without lawful basis.
"Since Abrego Garcia's return from erroneous detention in El Salvador, he has been taken back into custody, again without legal justification," Judge Paula Xinis stated in her ruling.
The case originates in a mistaken removal to El Salvador in March, which the government later admitted was an error. Following his return to the United States to face human smuggling charges, he was held in federal custody.
In her order, the court pointed out that the authorities lacks a current deportation order, which prevents them from deporting Mr. Abrego Garcia "for now."
The court proceedings center on conflicting claims. While the Trump administration contends that Abrego Garcia is a affiliate of the MS-13 gang, he categorically disputes this allegation.
He has also entered a not guilty plea to the conspiracy counts, which are part of a ongoing trial in the state of Tennessee.
The judge, who was overseeing his challenge to removal in a Maryland district court, ruled that he must now comply with the terms of his release from jail in Tennessee. This order effectively transfers his monitoring to the Tennessee court.
This decision marks a notable development in a complicated immigration battle featuring claims of mistaken imprisonment and contested gang associations.