Overview
- U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis on Friday prohibited immigration authorities from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia back into custody pending a hearing on a temporary restraining order.
- Abrego Garcia was freed Thursday from a Pennsylvania ICE facility after Xinis ruled his re‑detention had no legal basis because the government produced no final removal order.
- The Department of Homeland Security condemned the decisions as “naked judicial activism” and said it will challenge the rulings in court.
- His case follows a mistaken March deportation to El Salvador despite a 2019 order withholding removal, after which federal courts, including the Supreme Court, directed his return to the United States.
- Officials have pursued removals to multiple third countries while disputes persisted over Costa Rica’s willingness to accept him, as his Tennessee human‑smuggling case continues with a motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution.