Legal Battle over Kilmer Abrego Garcia’s Deportation Continues
GREENBELT, MARYLAND — Attorneys representing Salvadoran immigrant Kilmer Abrego Garcia made a request to a federal judge in Maryland on Thursday, seeking to prevent the Trump administration from deporting him to Liberia, a third country. This legal struggle has been ongoing for nine months, gaining international media attention throughout.
On Thursday, the process seemed to hit a roadblock when U.S. District Judge Paula Kinnis struggled to determine whether the government had issued a final deportation order for Abrego-Garcia. Without that documentation, Abrego-Garcia may be entitled to immediate relief based on precedents set by the Supreme Court, while the Justice Department retains the ability to pursue relief in higher courts.
“You’ve raised all these arguments, and they all hinge on whether or not I get a takedown order,” Kinnis remarked during the hearing. She promised a ruling “soon,” yet the session concluded with more questions than answers, leaving Judge Kinnis visibly frustrated. “From my perspective, today was zero,” she expressed.
Adding to the complexity, government lawyers previously requested Kinnis to revoke an emergency order issued in August, which mandated that Abrego-Garcia remain in U.S. immigration custody. They indicated plans to deport him to Liberia immediately unless her order was lifted, despite earlier attempts to transfer him to other African countries like Uganda and Eswatini. These attempts had failed.
During the hearing, Kinnis criticized the Justice Department for not clarifying why Costa Rica, which had previously granted Abrego-Garcia legal residency and a promise not to deport him to El Salvador, was now off the table. “So you’re saying that Costa Rica has withdrawn its offer to Abrego Garcia?” she questioned. “But it is in the offer, it is—not conditional, and that’s what I don’t understand,” she stated, asking for evidence to ensure the claims weren’t just “empty affidavits.”
Abrego-Garcia Remains in Custody as Judge Reviews Case
During the rest of the hearing, Judge Kinnis focused on proving whether the government had indeed issued an expulsion notice. “I want to be clear,” she said, expressing her interest in finding the takedown notice.
If such an order does not exist, she is expected to order Abrego-Garcia’s release based on the Supreme Court ruling in Zadvydas vs. Davis, which prohibits indefinite detention of immigrants after a removal order is issued. Such a move would allow him to stay in the U.S. while awaiting trial on charges in Nashville, though the Justice Department is likely to appeal.
The ruling would also permit him to take part in an evidentiary hearing in Tennessee the following month, focusing on his motion to dismiss the case, which claims he has been subject to “retaliatory” and selective prosecution. The Justice Department’s attorney raised concerns about the expungement order being effectively on the record, suggesting the immigration judge intended to issue a removal order.
Kinnis countered, stating, “This is nothing like a final exclusion order; it’s not even close.” Before the adjournment, she affirmed that this would be the last hearing regarding Abrego-Garcia’s habeas case and emphasized that she planned to reach a decision within a few days.
Kinnis expressed her frustration at the Justice Department’s failure to present any witnesses who had knowledge of the case, especially regarding the planned deportation to Liberia and the shaky assurances of entry there. “Frankly, I don’t even know if that matters here, because once we find that there is no final order, that’s it,” she concluded.
