Maryland man Kilmar Armando Ábrego García was released from immigration services on Thursday after a federal judge ordered he be freed from detention immediately.
The father is set to return to his family in Maryland after his evening release, the Associated Press reported.
Thursday’s order demanded that Ábrego García — whose wrongful deportation has made national headlines since March — has his criminal counsel on hand to ensure a fair release.
“Since Ábrego García’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis wrote. “For this reason, the Court will grant Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE custody.”
At 16, Ábrego García illegally fled to the United States from El Salvador to avoid prosecution by a gang — an act that is now protected under an asylum law.
In 2019, an immigration judge ruled that he could not be deported back to El Salvador. But he was still wrongfully deported there by the Trump administration in March.
[Follow the timeline of Kilmar Armando Ábrego García’s wrongful deportation]
The Maryland man’s immigration status has faced a consistent back-and-forth for the last 10 months, making him the face of Trump’s crackdown on immigration enforcement policies.
“For months the Trump Administration has sought to deny Kilmar Ábrego García his rights to due process and fair treatment by our justice system,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) wrote in a Thursday news release. “Today’s ruling by Judge Xinis … is a clear repudiation of those attempts and a forceful stand for our Constitution and the rights of all those in our nation.”
Van Hollen has advocated for Ábrego García since April, when he traveled to El Salvador to support his release.
Ábrego García was not returned to the United States until June, where he remained in a federal jail in Tennessee. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement then detained him in Baltimore in late August.
Despite the Trump administration’s pushback, Xinis argued for Ábrego García’s release by reminding government officials about his right to due process in her brief.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a Thursday social media post that the order to release him immediately “lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.”
