A legal battle is intensifying over the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly sent to El Salvador despite a court order allowing him to stay in the United States. His attorneys are now demanding that the Trump administration take immediate action to bring him back.
The case has drawn sharp criticism, as lawyers representing Abrego Garcia accused the government of disregarding legal protections. In a court filing, they lambasted officials for what they described as an "administrative error" that led to his deportation on March 15.
Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing the case in Federal District Court in Maryland, is set to hold a hearing on Friday. The controversy has raised fundamental concerns about the rule of law , with Abrego Garcia’s lawyers warning of broader implications.
“In the end, the public interest is best served by restoring the supremacy of laws over power,” the lawyers wrote in their filing, according to New York Times.
“The Department of Homeland Security must obey the orders of the immigration courts, or else such courts become meaningless. Noncitizens — and their US-citizen spouses and children — must know that if this nation awards them a grant protection from persecution, it will honor that commitment even when the political winds shift.”
Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national, has a wife and a young child who are both US citizens. His attorneys expressed outrage that the administration has done little to rectify the mistake, stating that the prison where he is currently held—CECOT—is notorious for its harsh conditions.
“Defendants have already washed their hands of plaintiff, of his US-citizen wife, of his autistic nonverbal five-year-old US-citizen child,” they argued. “Defendants’ proposed resolution of this state of affairs, which they caused either intentionally or at best recklessly, is nothing at all. This is an outrageous set of facts.”
The Trump administration has admitted the deportation was an “oversight” but insists that US courts have no authority to order his release from Salvadoran custody. Officials also claim they cannot compel the Salvadoran government to free him.
The administration’s justification has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts and immigrant advocates, who point out that previous administrations have successfully negotiated the return of individuals mistakenly deported. Abrego Garcia’s legal team is now urging the court to require the administration to secure his release through “financial pressure and diplomacy.” However, the Justice Department has responded by asserting that there is no indication the Salvadoran government would be willing to cooperate.
Abrego Garcia’s case traces back to his arrest in March 2019 when he was detained while seeking employment at a Home Depot in Hyattsville, Maryland. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials accused him of being a member of MS-13, a claim he has vehemently denied. The basis for this accusation rested on a confidential informant’s claim and the fact that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, which ICE officials deemed indicative of gang affiliation.
Challenging these allegations, Abrego Garcia applied for asylum, arguing that his life would be at risk if he were sent back to El Salvador. In October 2019, an immigration judge granted him “withholding from removal,” a status that protected him from deportation.
Despite this ruling, he was taken into custody again last month and misinformed by immigration agents that his protected status had changed. Within days, he was placed on a flight to El Salvador, one of three deportation flights hastily arranged by the administration as part of a broader crackdown under the Alien Enemies Act. This rarely used wartime statute was also deployed to expel Venezuelan migrants accused of gang affiliations.
While two of the flights were authorized under this act, the third flight—on which Abrego Garcia was transported—was supposed to be reserved only for individuals with formal deportation orders. The administration has not explained how he ended up on that flight despite having legal protection.
His legal team has framed the case as a test of the government’s accountability and adherence to the rule of law. They argue that ignoring court decisions in immigration cases erodes trust in the legal system and undermines protections granted to vulnerable individuals.
Judge Xinis’ upcoming decision could determine whether the administration will be forced to take action to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. Until then, his family and legal team remain locked in an urgent fight to correct what they call a grave injustice.
The case has drawn sharp criticism, as lawyers representing Abrego Garcia accused the government of disregarding legal protections. In a court filing, they lambasted officials for what they described as an "administrative error" that led to his deportation on March 15.
Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing the case in Federal District Court in Maryland, is set to hold a hearing on Friday. The controversy has raised fundamental concerns about the rule of law , with Abrego Garcia’s lawyers warning of broader implications.
“In the end, the public interest is best served by restoring the supremacy of laws over power,” the lawyers wrote in their filing, according to New York Times.
“The Department of Homeland Security must obey the orders of the immigration courts, or else such courts become meaningless. Noncitizens — and their US-citizen spouses and children — must know that if this nation awards them a grant protection from persecution, it will honor that commitment even when the political winds shift.”
Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national, has a wife and a young child who are both US citizens. His attorneys expressed outrage that the administration has done little to rectify the mistake, stating that the prison where he is currently held—CECOT—is notorious for its harsh conditions.
“Defendants have already washed their hands of plaintiff, of his US-citizen wife, of his autistic nonverbal five-year-old US-citizen child,” they argued. “Defendants’ proposed resolution of this state of affairs, which they caused either intentionally or at best recklessly, is nothing at all. This is an outrageous set of facts.”
The Trump administration has admitted the deportation was an “oversight” but insists that US courts have no authority to order his release from Salvadoran custody. Officials also claim they cannot compel the Salvadoran government to free him.
The administration’s justification has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts and immigrant advocates, who point out that previous administrations have successfully negotiated the return of individuals mistakenly deported. Abrego Garcia’s legal team is now urging the court to require the administration to secure his release through “financial pressure and diplomacy.” However, the Justice Department has responded by asserting that there is no indication the Salvadoran government would be willing to cooperate.
Abrego Garcia’s case traces back to his arrest in March 2019 when he was detained while seeking employment at a Home Depot in Hyattsville, Maryland. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials accused him of being a member of MS-13, a claim he has vehemently denied. The basis for this accusation rested on a confidential informant’s claim and the fact that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, which ICE officials deemed indicative of gang affiliation.
Challenging these allegations, Abrego Garcia applied for asylum, arguing that his life would be at risk if he were sent back to El Salvador. In October 2019, an immigration judge granted him “withholding from removal,” a status that protected him from deportation.
Despite this ruling, he was taken into custody again last month and misinformed by immigration agents that his protected status had changed. Within days, he was placed on a flight to El Salvador, one of three deportation flights hastily arranged by the administration as part of a broader crackdown under the Alien Enemies Act. This rarely used wartime statute was also deployed to expel Venezuelan migrants accused of gang affiliations.
While two of the flights were authorized under this act, the third flight—on which Abrego Garcia was transported—was supposed to be reserved only for individuals with formal deportation orders. The administration has not explained how he ended up on that flight despite having legal protection.
His legal team has framed the case as a test of the government’s accountability and adherence to the rule of law. They argue that ignoring court decisions in immigration cases erodes trust in the legal system and undermines protections granted to vulnerable individuals.
Judge Xinis’ upcoming decision could determine whether the administration will be forced to take action to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. Until then, his family and legal team remain locked in an urgent fight to correct what they call a grave injustice.
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