A U.S. immigration judge on Wednesday rejected a last-ditch bid for asylum from Kilmar Abrego Garcia, leaving intact a final order of removal against the accused MS-13 gang member whose case has drawn national attention.
The ruling came Wednesday in a Baltimore immigration court, where Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Philip Taylor denied a motion from Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to reopen his case. Taylor wrote that their filing was “untimely,” as it arrived nearly six years after litigation over Abrego Garcia’s illegal entry into the United States began, far past the 90-day deadline.
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Attorneys for Abrego Garcia, 29, argued he qualified for asylum after being deported to El Salvador earlier this year and then returned to the U.S. to face federal human trafficking charges in Tennessee. They also contended he could face torture or death in El Salvador, pointing to public accusations that he is an MS-13 member.
Taylor rejected those arguments, calling the evidence “insufficient.” He noted that Salvadoran prison officials questioned Abrego Garcia and documented his tattoos but did not mistreat him.
The decision means Abrego Garcia’s deportation order will stand, though he has 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
In August, Abrego Garcia’s legal team said the Department of Homeland Security notified them of the possibility that he could be deported to Uganda despite his Salvadoran citizenship. Taylor dismissed those concerns, writing that the DHS merely reserved the right to do so and did not indicate imminent plans.
With today’s ruling, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s final order of removal stands.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 1, 2025
This MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, domestic abuser, and child predator will never be loose on American streets.
His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S. but one thing is certain,…
DHS praised the decision in a statement.
“With today’s ruling, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s final order of removal stands,” the department said in a statement. “This MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, domestic abuser, and child predator will never be loose on American streets.”
KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA TRANSFERRED TO A PENNSYLVANIA DETENTION FACILITY
Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally in 2012 and was granted a limited “withholding of removal” order in 2019 due to fears of persecution in El Salvador. He was deported there in March in violation of that order, sparking outcry from Democratic lawmakers, some of whom traveled to the country in protest. He was returned to the U.S. in June amid legal proceedings.
He is currently detained in Pennsylvania pending his federal trafficking case and immigration litigation. Separately, the Justice Department on Wednesday sought to pause deadlines in his Maryland deportation case due to the government shutdown.