A federal judge issued a ruling barring ICE from detaining suspected MS-13 member and illegal alien human smuggler Kilmar Abrego Garcia just as a different judge ruled the Salvadoran national could be released from the Tennessee jail as he awaits trial for human smuggling, teeing up his return to Maryland.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland ordered the federal government to give three business days of notice before ICE could launch deportation proceedings against the previously-deported Salvadoran national, who was infamously branded as a “Maryland man” by his supporters and a slew of media talking heads.
The ruling prevents ICE from quickly detaining Abrego Garcia, who is now set to be released from the Tennessee jail due to a separate ruling from a Tennessee judge. The illegal alien will not be released immediately, however, as an additional judge must consider a request by Abrego Garcia to delay his release by 30 days.
The dual rulings facilitate the Salvadoran illegal alien’s return to Maryland, where he lived before his removal to El Salvador by the Trump administration. Once back in Maryland, he will be under federal supervision, and ICE will have to restart Abrego Garcia’s immigration proceedings, providing a 72-hour notice before his deportation.
ICE previously indicated that it would detain and deport Abrego Garcia if he were released from prison, as he stands trial for charges in connection with an alleged human smuggling operation in which the Salvadoran illegal alien is accused of trafficking children and MS-13 members throughout the interior of the United States.
If removed, Abrego Garcia is likely to be sent to a willing “third country,” a nation other than his nation of origin that agrees to receive him.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded to the ruling in a series of posts on X.
“The facts remain: this MS-13 gang member, human trafficker and criminal illegal alien will never walk America’s streets again,” McLaughlin first said after the ruling. “The fact this unhinged judge is trying to tell ICE they can’t arrest an MS-13 gang member, indicted by a grand jury for human trafficking, and subject to immigration arrest under federal law is LAWLESS AND INSANE,” she said in another post.
Among Abrego Garcia’s most vocal supporters is CASA, a group that received funding from the Biden administration as it advocated for illegal aliens and called for ICE to be abolished. The organization counted Abrego Garcia as a member prior to his deportation, The Daily Wire reported.