After a federal judge ordered Kilmar Ábrego García to be released, arguing that the Trump administration lacked the legal authority to detain him. National outlets have already reported that he has been released.
Although Ábrego faces renewed deportation attempts after his unjustified expulsion to El Salvador in March and his subsequent return to the United States during the summer, there is no final deportation order.
It was in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland that Judge Paula Xinis ruled that the Salvadoran could not be kept in the Valle de Moshannon migrant detention center in Pennsylvania.
“His expulsion cannot be reasonably considered foreseeable, imminent, nor in accordance with due process,” Xinis wrote in a memo.
“Since the unjustified detention of Ábrego García in El Salvador, he has been detained again, again without legal authorization,” she added.
On December 11, the team of lawyers representing Ábrego had already reported his release and have expressed optimism about what lies ahead.
