Kilmar Abrego Garcia heading back to Maryland after judge orders his release from ICE custody

GREENBELT, Md. – Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from ICE custody after a federal judge in Maryland granted the order amid his legal fight over deportation.

What we know:

Judge Paula Xinis ordered his release on Thursday. “Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” the judge wrote. “For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE custody.”

According to the court documents, officials must notify his attorney before releasing him and update the court on his release status by 5 p.m. on Thursday. Pretrial Services will also coordinate with his attorney on release conditions, and all parties must file a joint status report by December 18, the documents stated.

READ MORE: Judge blocks ICE from immediately taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into custody if released

Images of Kilmar Abrego Garcia as he reported to the ICE detention center in Baltimore on Monday, just days after his release from jail. ICE alerted his attorneys Friday that he could be deported to Uganda and was ordered to report to authorities.

The backstory:

Abrego Garcia, who has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years, immigrated illegally from El Salvador as a teenager. 

In 2019, an immigration judge gave him protection from deportation, finding he faced danger in his home country. But in March, he was deported to El Salvador anyway in what a government attorney later called an administrative error. 

The administration returned him to the United States in June but has since pursued deportation to a third country.

Abrego Garcia also faces human smuggling charges in federal court in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, arguing the charges amount to “selective or vindictive prosecution.”

READ MORE: Trump DOJ plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia