Judge freezes Ábrego García deportation to Uganda following ICE arrest in Baltimore

BALTIMORE (CN) — A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration temporarily cannot remove Kilmar Ábrego García to Uganda, freezing his sudden deportation until a later court hearing.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the pause from the bench on Monday, at an emergency hearing just hours after ICE agents arrested Ábrego García following a mandatory immigration check-in at the agency’s Baltimore field office Monday morning.

Ábrego García was released from criminal detention in Tennessee on Friday, where he was held following his return from El Salvador in June, and returned home to Maryland over the weekend before going to ICE’s Baltimore field office Monday morning.

The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that Ábrego García is being processed for removal to Uganda, despite court orders barring his immediate removal to a third country until at least Thursday.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign indicated at Monday’s emergency hearing that Ábrego García’s deportation was “not imminent,” stating that third-country removals “often take some time.”

Xinis, who ordered last month that Ábrego García must be given a 72-hour period to challenge any such removal efforts, emphasized the fact that her order remains in place.

The government, Xinis said, was “absolutely forbidden at this juncture from removing Mr. Ábrego García from the United States.”

According to his attorneys, ICE officers arrested Ábrego García following his check-in, and refused to provide any information as to where he would be taken beyond stating he’d be held in an ICE detention facility.

Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, of the immigration firm Murray Osorio and Ábrego García’s lead lawyer in Maryland, slammed his client’s detention in an emailed statement Monday as “unnecessary and cruel.”

“After months of incarceration, he deserves the opportunity to remain safely at home with his family while his claims are fairly considered,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “Instead, ICE is once again rushing to deport him, potentially to countries where his safety cannot be assured.”

The Trump administration has repeatedly stated its intention to deport Ábrego García once again, maintaining he is a member of the MS-13 gang and a dangerous criminal without providing clear evidence.

According to a court filing in Tennessee Saturday, ICE officials told Ábrego García’s attorneys that if he pleaded guilty to his two counts of immigration-related smuggling prior to his release, he would be deported to Costa Rica. However, upon his release ICE indicated Ábrego García would instead be deported to Uganda.

“For this reason, our team has filed a new lawsuit demanding that the government refrain from deporting him anywhere unless and until a court has heard his claim for protection,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “Justice requires no less.”

During a pair of evidentiary hearings in early July, Thomas Giles, assistant director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, testified that under new Department of Homeland Security policies, immigrants can be summarily deported to any country.

He explained that, so long as that country provides credible “diplomatic assurances” that the person will not face persecution or torture, the State Department will consider that country safe for deportations.

In Tennessee, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. ruled on July 23 that Ábrego García had to be released pending his criminal trial on two counts of immigration-related human smuggling. The Barack Obama appointee determined Ábrego García did not post a flight risk or a danger to the community.

That same day, Xinis preemptively ruled that once Ábrego García was released, ICE could not immediately take him into custody. Instead, the Obama-appointed Maryland federal judge ordered that his case be transferred to ICE’s Baltimore office.

A second, temporary order was placed in his new lawsuit filed Monday, barring Ábrego García’s removal until at least 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The two-day freeze was placed automatically, per recently amended local rules from the District of Maryland — a practice, sparked by cases like Ábrego García’s, that is currently being challenged by the Justice Department.

“Today, ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Ábrego García and are processing him for deportation,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release. “President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer.”

In the release, Noem cited Ábrego García’s criminal record, which includes: a 2019 Prince George’s County arrest report, where he was arrested with two purported members of MS-13; a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, where he was pulled over with eight passengers, central to his criminal human smuggling charges; and a protection order previously filed by his wife.

Before his arrest, Ábrego García was met by a crowd of supporters outside the ICE field office, with immigration advocates from CASA, local faith leaders and Maryland Democratic Representative Glenn Ivey present.

“Regardless of what happens today with ICE, promise me this,” Ábrego García said in Spanish. “That you will keep fighting, praying, believing in dignity and liberty, not just for me but for all.”

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