A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from US immigration detention after finding he was held without lawful authority. Judge Paula Xinis said his custody had no legal basis because he has no valid removal order and the government has no workable plan to deport him.
Judge says Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s detention has no legal basis
In her 31-page order, US District Judge Paula Xinis said that since Abrego Garcia’s “wrongful detention in El Salvador,” the government has “re-detained, again without lawful authority,” a man who lacks any valid removal order. She ruled that immigration law does not permit indefinite or punitive detention and that officials cannot hold him when no foreseeable removal is possible.
The judge directed the government to notify Abrego Garcia of the time and location of his release and to inform the court once he has been freed from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
Wrongful deportation to El Salvador’s mega-prison
Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old from El Salvador, has lived in Maryland with his wife and child. He was granted withholding of removal in 2019 after a judge found he would face persecution if returned to El Salvador.
Despite that order, ICE deported him in March 2025 to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison after Trump officials alleged MS-13 ties, which he denies. The government later called the deportation an “administrative mistake.”
He was brought back to the US in June 2025 to face human-smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty. After being released to his brother’s custody, ICE detained him again even though no lawful removal order existed.
Government backlash and shifting deportation plans
The Department of Homeland Security condemned the ruling as “naked judicial activism” and said it would appeal. Officials have attempted to remove him to Liberia and at various points notified him of planned expulsions to Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana. Judge Xinis said none of these options were realistic.
She also noted that Costa Rica, his preferred country of removal, had repeatedly stated it would accept him and offer refugee protection. The court found that government efforts to exclude Costa Rica “backfired” when the country publicly reaffirmed its willingness.
Court cites the extraordinary history of the case
Xinis called the history of the case “extraordinary,” pointing to wrongful deportation, re-detention and inconsistent plans for removal. She stressed that immigration detention cannot serve as punishment and must be tied to a lawful, achievable removal process.
Abrego Garcia will now return to supervision under the US Pretrial Services Office and will follow the release conditions in his Tennessee criminal case.
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