An immigration judge rejected Kilmar Abrego Garcia's request to have his case reopened, claiming he is now eligible to apply for asylum, according to a new report.
ABC News noted that Abrego Garcia's lawyers claimed that, since he was deported to El Salvador and then brought back by the Trump administration, he is eligible to apply for asylum within a year of his last entry to the country.
However, judge Philip Taylor said the motion is "untimely" because it was filed six days after his immigration proceedings, after the 90-day deadline. He added that there is "insufficient evidence" about the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security's intention to deport him to a third country.
"The word 'may' is permissive and indicates to the Court that in sending this notification to Respondent's counsel, the Department sought to convey that it reserved the right to remove him to Uganda, not necessarily that it intended to do so, that it had decided to do so, or that it would do so imminently," Taylor said.
He also claimed that evidence provided by Abrego Garcia to justify his need for protection due to fear of being tortured by MS-13 gang in El Salvador was "insufficient."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reacted to the development by saying that Abrego Garcia's final order for removal stands after the judge's decision.
The administration anticipated its intention of deporting Abrego Garcia to the African country of Eswatini. Officials dismissed in a letter earlier this month Ábrego García's claims of fearing persecution in Uganda and highlighted that he has raised similar concerns about at least 22 countries, including El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela.
For that reason authorities are seeking to send him to Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, a landlocked nation in southern Africa ruled by King Mswati III. Human rights groups have long criticized Eswatini's record on political freedoms and migration policies.
Advocates argue that the Eswatini order violates U.S. obligations under international refugee conventions. Critics of the administration, however, insist that Ábrego García has exhausted his legal avenues and should be deported.
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