A federal judge upheld her block on the Trump administration from redetaining and deporting Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, sharply criticizing the government’s handling of the case during a Maryland court hearing on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, accused the administration of making “false assertions” about her prior rulings to an appeals court on Tuesday as Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought to answer questions about what happens to Abrego Garcia’s case once he is deported by the Trump administration.
“You need Mr. Abrego Garcia here to try him,” Xinis said, referring to his criminal human smuggling case in Tennessee.
Her decision to keep him out of ICE custody marked a second blow to the Department of Homeland Security‘s efforts to send him to a third country and largely stemmed from confusion surrounding a plan for his removal to Liberia. Xinis ordered both sides to meet and confer on a proposed briefing schedule by Wednesday to address unresolved portions of Abrego Garcia’s petition.
The renewed deportation effort took off again this spring after ICE filed a court motion seeking to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia following his release order issued by Xinis in December.
The case has become a flash point in the Trump administration’s broader effort to expand deportations to third countries, with Xinis serving as a stopgap toward a successful final deportation of Abrego Garcia and the administration contentiously asserting that she is overstepping her authority as a non-immigration judge.
President Donald Trump has portrayed Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member, citing his various tattoos that are common among such gang members. And during his bond hearing before an immigration judge in 2019, a field interview sheet linking him to gang activity was found to be “trustworthy,” with the judge finding him eligible for deportation to any country other than El Salvador.
The 30-year-old Salvadoran national had previously resided in the United States illegally for years, and claimed to fear persecution from gangs back in his home country. He was returned to the U.S. last summer after being deported to El Salvador in March 2025 over an error made during his initial removal. Meanwhile, his criminal case in Tennessee has been delayed after another Obama-appointed judge found a “likelihood” that the case against him is vindictive.
In a statement Tuesday, immigrant advocacy group We Are CASA said Abrego Garcia would prefer deportation to Costa Rica, but alleged the administration has continued pursuing removal to Liberia despite concerns he could ultimately be sent back to El Salvador.
“The court raised concerns about those efforts in light of the same administration’s ongoing criminal prosecution against Kilmar in the Middle District of Tennessee,” the group said. “That case is actively keeping him in the United States and points to a lack of sincerity in the government’s purported goal of simply removing him as soon as possible.”
Viviana Lozano, Maryland organizing deputy director for We Are CASA, called the ruling a victory for Abrego Garcia and immigration advocates.
“Today, Kilmar is once again able to walk out of court and return to his family,” Lozano said. “That victory is a testament to the power of community organizing.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SCRAMBLES TO FIND COUNTRY TO TAKE ABREGO GARCIA BEFORE JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE
Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, argued the administration’s refusal to pursue deportation to Costa Rica undermined its claim that it was simply seeking to remove his client from the country. Xinis has also repeatedly expressed discontent with the government disallowing self-deportation to Costa Rica, after Abrego Garcia’s lawyers offered the country as an alternative last year.
“The government is unwilling to send Mr. Abrego to Costa Rica for unexplained reasons,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “Since they’re not allowed to deport him to Africa, the case remains at a stalemate caused by the government.”
