A federal judge on Monday doubled down that the Trump administration is “absolutely forbidden,” from removing mistakenly deported man Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the U.S., for now.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Obama, blocked Abrego Garcia’s deportation to Uganda until she can hold a hearing to determine whether the administration will let him contest his removal to the third country.
Abrego Garcia’s detention and the bid to deport him comes just three days after he was freed from custody in a criminal case filed against him in federal court in Tennessee. He filed suit after he was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody Monday when he reported for a check-in at ICE’s Baltimore field office.
Xinis emphasized Monday that Abrego Garcia isn’t going anywhere, for now.
“Your clients are absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States,” the judge said. “That is the understanding that we have?”
“Your honor, yes,” DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign replied. “We certainly understand that.”
But the government also suggested that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was “not imminent,” anyways.
“Third country removals often take some time,” Ensign said.
Abrego Garcia’s case became a flashpoint in President Trump’s ramped up efforts to remove noncitizens from the U.S., after he was mistakenly sent back to El Salvador despite a 2019 court order preventing him from being deported there over fears his safety would be at risk.
After initially resisting court orders to facilitate his return, the Trump administration brought Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. in June but then hit him with federal criminal charges in Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia has argued in the criminal case that he’s a target of selective and vindictive prosecution, claiming the effort to deport him to Uganda is proof.
His lawyers told a federal judge in Tennessee that the Justice Department presented him with a deal to plead guilty to the two human smuggling charges he faces and serve that time before being deported to Costa Rica, which would accept him as a lawful citizen.
But when he turned that down, the government said it would send him to Uganda, instead.
The allegations raised alarm, Xinis said.
“You can’t condition the relinquishing of a constitutional right in that regard,” she said.
Xinis also noted that nothing in the record indicates that Uganda would not send Abrego Garcia back to El Salvador after receiving him. Costa Rica, meanwhile, offered assurance that Abrego Garcia could move freely.
“The silence is taken certainly in contrast to what’s been provided by the country of Costa Rica,” Xinis said. “The contrast is significant.”
Sealed court filings obtained by The Hill sister network DC News Now show that Abrego Garcia signed a document stating he fears persecution in Uganda and that the country will send him back to El Salvador. He also signed a document designating Costa Rica as his preferred country of removal.
“Now that he has served that reasonable fear notice, he’s entitled to a reasonable fear interview,” Abrego Garcia lawyer Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said on a press call earlier Monday. “To me, it seems very clear — crystal clear — that while we’re waiting for that interview to be scheduled, while we’re waiting for the results of that interview, they can’t put him on a plane.”
Xinis also ordered the government not to move Abrego Garcia from the detention facility in Virginia where his lawyer said he’s being housed, to ensure he has access to counsel as the lawsuit progresses.
The government and Abrego Garcia’s lawyers were directed to propose a briefing schedule, including dates for an evidentiary hearing, by Tuesday morning.
