Washington, Dec 11 (EFE).- A United States judge ordered on Thursday the immediate release of Kilmar Ábrego García, the Salvadoran migrant who was returned to the United States after an irregular deportation to El Salvador and is now being held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
Paula Xinis, a federal judge in Maryland, ruled that Ábrego be released as ICE had repeatedly failed to provide a final order of removal, required for deportation.
“Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” Xinis wrote in her decision.
“For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE custody,” she added.
Assistant Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said President Donald Trump’s administration will “continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” calling Xinis’ order “judicial activism by an Obama-appointed judge.”
Ábrego, a resident of Maryland, was deported to El Salvador in March and imprisoned in the maximum-security CECOT prison despite the fact that a US judge had prohibited his expulsion from the country.
After a grueling legal battle with the Trump administration, which accused him of being a criminal, Ábrego was returned to the United States in June to face federal charges for human smuggling.
He is currently in ICE custody in Pennsylvania, while the US government seeks to deport him to a third African country with which he has no ties.
“Because Abrego Garcia has been held in ICE detention to effectuate third-country removal absent a lawful removal order, his requested relief is proper,” Xinis wrote.
“Conduct over the past months belies that his detention has been for the basic purpose of effectuating removal, lending further support that Abrego Garcia should be held no longer,” she added.
Even if he is released from ICE custody, the Salvadoran remains subject to a provisional release imposed by a Tennessee judge, pending trial for the abovementioned charges. EFE
ecs/mcd
