Judge delivers major blow to deportation case
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who is in the United States illegally, was mistakenly deported to and held in a El Salvador prison. He was later returned to U.S. custody and now faces human smuggling charges that his lawyers call baseless.
His lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, says Abrego Garcia is traumatized but remains hopeful. He may seek asylum, apply for a green card through his U.S. spouse, or pursue resettlement in Costa Rica.
“His number one priority is not to end up back in CECOT. His number one priority is avoiding getting sent back to that prison,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said.
The Trump administration at first resisted returning him but eventually complied. A federal judge in Maryland ordered his release and barred further detention pending a hearing.
Sandoval-Moshenberg added, “This isn’t a case where he’s an activist, like an immigrant’s rights activist, or he’s been, you know, persecuted by the government for his pro-Palestinian speech or something like that. He’s a random guy.”
The Trump administration supporters maintain officials acted within their authority. They say the smuggling charges raise legitimate law enforcement concerns that should be decided in court.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, a judicial activist nominated by Barrack Obama, has been highly critical of the administration’s continued attempts to re-detain him. She extended a temporary restraining order that prevents ICE from re-arresting him. Xinis suggested the administration’s actions were in “bad faith.” She pushed back on DOJ lawyers, asking, “Why should I give the respondents the benefit of the doubt?”
Separately, Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr., another judicial activist nominated by Barack Obama, is presiding over the human smuggling criminal charges in Tennessee. The judge ruled that there is enough evidence of a “realistic likelihood of vindictiveness” to hold a special evidentiary hearing on January 28.
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Original Article: Judge delivers major blow to deportation case
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