The Daily Populous Friday December 12nd, 2025 night edition
Authored by apnews.com and submitted by igetproteinfartsHELP

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PHILIPSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from immigration detention on a judge’s order Thursday while he fights to stay in the U.S., handing a major victory to the immigrant whose wrongful deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to let Abrego Garcia go immediately, writing that federal authorities had detained him again after his return to the United States without any legal basis.

Abrego Garcia’s attorney’s office confirmed he was released just before 5 p.m., the deadline the judge gave the government for an update on Abrego Garcia’s release. His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, earlier told The Associated Press that Abrego Garcia plans to return to Maryland, where he has an American wife and child and where he has lived for years after originally immigrating to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.

Abrego Garcia had been held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.

Sandoval-Moshenberg said he’s not sure what comes next, but he’s prepared to defend his client against further deportation efforts.

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“The government still has plenty of tools in their toolbox, plenty of tricks up their sleeve,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said, adding he fully expects the government to again take steps to deport his client. “We’re going to be there to fight to make sure there is a fair trial.”

The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge’s decision and vowed to appeal, calling the ruling “naked judicial activism” by a judge appointed during the Obama administration.

“This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary.

Sandoval-Moshenberg said the judge made it clear that the government can’t detain someone indefinitely without legal authority and that his client “has endured more than anyone should ever have to.”

Abrego Garcia, with an American wife and child, has lived in Maryland for years but entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager. An immigration judge ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family. When he was mistakenly sent there in March, his case became a rallying point for those who oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, front left, her husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia, front center, and Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, front right, attend a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File) Jennifer Vasquez Sura, front left, her husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia, front center, and Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, front right, attend a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook

A court later ordered his return to the United States. Since he cannot be removed to El Salvador, ICE has been seeking to deport him to a series of African countries. His federal suit claims the Trump administration is illegally using the removal process to punish Abrego Garcia for the public embarrassment caused by his deportation.

In her order releasing Abrego Garcia, Xinis wrote that federal authorities “did not just stonewall” the court, “They affirmatively misled the tribunal.” The judge was referencing the successive list of four African countries that officials had sought to remove Abrego Garcia to, seemingly without commitments from those countries, as well as officials’ affirmations that Costa Rica withdrew its offer to accept him, a claim later proven untrue.

“But Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia, just as Abrego Garcia never wavered in his commitment to resettle there,” the judge wrote.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, and her husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia attend a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File) Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, and her husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia attend a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook

Xinis also rejected the government’s argument that she lacked jurisdiction to intervene on a final removal order for Abrego Garcia, because she found no final order had been filed.

Separately, Abrego Garcia is asking an immigration court to reopen his case so he can seek asylum in the United States.

He is also criminally charged in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has asked the federal court to dismiss the case, arguing the prosecution is vindictive. His defense attorney in Tennessee, Sean Hecker, declined to comment.

A judge in that case has ordered an evidentiary hearing after previously finding some evidence that the charges “may be vindictive.” The judge also noted several statements by Trump administration officials that “raise cause for concern,” including a statement by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that seemed to suggest the Justice Department charged Abrego Garcia because he won his wrongful deportation case. ___

Loller reported from Nashville and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

reddurkel on December 11st, 2025 at 16:16 UTC »

How isn’t this considered torture?

None of this stuff has anything to do with him. They are literally toying with this guys life because people had the nerve to point out that the government isn’t following due process.

AiMwithoutBoT on December 11st, 2025 at 16:11 UTC »

How much did tax payers pay for this theater?

igetproteinfartsHELP on December 11st, 2025 at 15:59 UTC »

"Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” the judge wrote. “For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE custody

Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. under a court order. Since he cannot be deported to El Salvador, ICE has been seeking to deport him to a series of African countries. His lawsuit in federal court claims Trump’s Republican administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish Abrego Garcia over the embarrassment of his mistaken deportation to El Salvador.