An immigration judge in Baltimore has denied Kilmar Ábrego García’s bid for asylum on Thursday, but he has 30 days to appeal.
Ábrego’s case has drawn national attention since the 30-year-old was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March. The Salvadorian national has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years, but he originally immigrated to the US without proper documentation as a teenager.
Following widespread pressure, the Trump administration returned him to the US in June. Upon his return, however, he immediately faced criminal charges related to human smuggling, allegations that his lawyers have rejected.
Ábrego was released from criminal custody in Tennessee on Friday while awaiting trial. But the Trump administration announced new plans to deport him to Uganda and then Eswatini.
Then Ábrego was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) during a scheduled immigration check-in in Baltimore, which was one of the conditions of his release.
Ábrego entered the US without authorization around 2011 as a teenager. According to court documents, he was fleeing gang violence.
Trump administration officials have waged a relentless public relations campaign against Ábrego, repeatedly referring to him as a member of the MS-13 gang, among other things, despite the fact that he has not been convicted of any crimes.
His lawyers have filed motions requesting a gag order and said Ábrego will not be able to receive a fair trial because of the “highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and false statements” made about him.
While the federal judge in Tennessee can order prosecutors there not to make any prejudicial statements about Ábrego, it is unclear whether the judge’s authority extends to the Department of Homeland Security, which posted about the immigration court ruling on X on Wednesday.
“His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S. but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country,” the post said.
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has launched a massive crackdown on immigrants across the US, including sending federal forces and the national guard to assist US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in numerous cities, nearly all of them Democrat-run.
The actions have prompted outrage from many groups, including Democrats and civic society groups.
The Associated Press contributed to reporting
