Judge bars ICE from immediately taking Abrego Garcia into custody if he鈥檚 released from jail
Jul 23, 2025, 12:15 PM | Updated: 1:28 pm
Supporters of Kilmar Abrego Garcia rally outside of the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., where a hearing was scheduled to be held on returning him to Maryland, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) 鈥� A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he鈥檚 released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to an order issued Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to initiate deportation proceedings against the Maryland construction worker.
The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland for years, while he periodically checked in with ICE.
Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President Donald Trump鈥檚 immigration policies following his wrongful explusion to El Salvador in March. Trump鈥檚 administration violated a U.S. immigration judge鈥檚 order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there.
