A US federal judge on Thursday ordered the immediate release of a Salvadoran man who was wrongly deported in March and then returned to the United States after months of legal battles and detained again.
The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident married to an American woman, has become a lightning rod for those opposed to President Donald Trump's efforts to carry out mass deportations across the country.
He was among more than 200 people sent to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison in March. The Trump administration alleges he is a violent MS-13 gang member involved in smuggling other undocumented migrants, which he denies.
After his return to the United States in June, Abrego Garcia was detained again in Tennessee on human smuggling charges. He was then released under strict conditions in August, pending a trial.
But after returning to Maryland, he was detained again by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation to one of four African countries. He declared himself instead ready to go to Costa Rica, which had been willing to take him.
In her ruling Thursday, Judge Paula Xinis concluded that Abrego Garcia has been held in ICE detention "absent a lawful removal order."
"His detention has been for the basic purpose of effectuating removal, lending further support that Abrego Garcia should be held no longer," her ruling said.
She ordered the government to release him from ICE custody immediately while his legal challenge against his deportation moves forward. The government must report back to the judge by 5:00 pm local time (2200 GMT) on Thursday, according to the ruling.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin accused the judge of "judicial activism."
"This order lacks any valid basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts," she wrote on X.
Trump has made combating illegal immigration his top priority, claiming an "invasion" of the United States by "foreign criminals" and pressing for the mass deportation of immigrants.Â
But his program has been hampered by numerous court rulings on the grounds that those targeted must be able to assert their rights.
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