{"id":343440,"date":"2025-12-12T02:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T02:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/343440\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T02:00:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T02:00:09","slug":"kilmar-abrego-garcia-released-from-immigration-detention-his-attorneys-office-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/343440\/","title":{"rendered":"Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from immigration detention, his attorney’s office says"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHILIPSBURG, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Kilmar Abrego Garcia<\/a> was freed from immigration detention on a judge\u2019s 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<\/a> in El Salvador made him a flashpoint<\/a> of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Abrego Garcia\u2019s attorney\u2019s office confirmed he was released just before 5 p.m., the deadline the judge gave the government for an update on Abrego Garcia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Abrego Garcia had been held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Sandoval-Moshenberg said he\u2019s not sure what comes next, but he\u2019s prepared to defend his client against further deportation efforts.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe government still has plenty of tools in their toolbox, plenty of tricks up their sleeve,\u201d Sandoval-Moshenberg said, adding he fully expects the government to again take steps to deport his client. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be there to fight to make sure there is a fair trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge\u2019s decision and vowed to appeal, calling the ruling \u201cnaked judicial activism\u201d by a judge appointed during the Obama administration. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,\u201d said Tricia McLaughlin, the department\u2019s assistant secretary.<\/p>\n

Sandoval-Moshenberg said the judge made it clear that the government can\u2019t detain someone indefinitely without legal authority and that his client \u201chas endured more than anyone should ever have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, could not be deported to El Salvador<\/a> because he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family. When he was mistakenly sent there<\/a> in March, his case became a rallying point for those who oppose President Donald Trump\u2019s immigration enforcement actions. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

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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<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

In her order releasing Abrego Garcia, Xinis wrote that federal authorities \u201cdid not just stonewall\u201d the court, \u201cThey affirmatively misled the tribunal.\u201d 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\u2019 affirmations that Costa Rica withdrew its offer to accept him, a claim later proven untrue.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia, just as Abrego Garcia never wavered in his commitment to resettle there,\u201d the judge wrote. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

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Xinis also rejected the government\u2019s argument that she lacked jurisdiction to intervene on a final removal order for Abrego Garcia, because she found no final order had been filed.<\/p>\n

Separately, Abrego Garcia is asking an immigration court to reopen his case so he can seek asylum<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n

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

A judge in that case has ordered an evidentiary hearing after previously finding some evidence that the charges \u201cmay be vindictive.\u201d The judge also noted several statements by Trump administration officials that \u201craise cause for concern,\u201d 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<\/a>. ___<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILIPSBURG, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from immigration detention on a judge\u2019s order Thursday while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,1927,8833,2302,12,793,790,14270,152186,8640,8641,3,14273,3234,68457,68456,18224,2219,2222,116294,3767,795,21,792,19,22,20,25,24,800,965],"class_list":["post-343440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-ap-top-news","tag-barack-obama","tag-courts","tag-donald-trump","tag-general-news","tag-immigration","tag-kilmar-abrego-garcia","tag-local-news-for-apple","tag-maryland","tag-md-state-wire","tag-news","tag-paula-xinis","tag-pennsylvania","tag-sean-hecker","tag-simon-sandoval-moshenberg","tag-teens","tag-tennessee","tag-tn-state-wire","tag-todd-blanche","tag-tricia-mclaughlin","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-government","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}