Judge Rules ICE Cannot Redetain Salvadoran National

A federal judge in Maryland ruled on Tuesday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot redetain Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, citing the expiration of a 90-day detention period and the lack of a feasible deportation plan by the government.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued the order after reviewing the government's efforts to remove Abrego Garcia from the United States. In her decision, Xinis stated that officials had proposed deporting him to several African nations, including Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana and Liberia, but provided no evidence that these countries would accept him. "The government made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success," Xinis wrote. She concluded that there is no reasonable basis to expect deportation in the foreseeable future.

Abrego Garcia, who entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager and has resided in Maryland for years, is married to a U.S. citizen and has an American child. In 2019, an immigration judge determined he could not be returned to El Salvador due to threats from a gang that had targeted his family. Despite this ruling, he was erroneously deported there last...