The fate of Kilmar Ábrego García, a thirty-year-old asylum seeker, remains uncertain as a federal judge intervenes to block his deportation to Uganda. His legal team is describing the latest move on his immigration status as retaliatory actions by the Trump administration, aiming to punish Ábrego for challenging his initial, erroneous deportation to El Salvador.
Later on that Monday, an unlikely hero emerged in the form of US District Judge Paula Xinis. Presiding over the case, Judge Xinis issued a critical ruling, temporarily barring the government from deporting Ábrego until at least the following Friday, according to ABC News.
The judge’s intervention did not stop there. On Wednesday morning, Judge Xinis extended her block on Ábrego’s deportation, ensuring he could not be removed from the country until at least early October. She further scheduled an evidentiary hearing for October 6, during which she declared her intention to compel Trump administration officials to testify about the government’s efforts to re-deport Ábrego.
Trump can’t just deport anyone he wants out of retaliation
The saga, which has unfolded over the initial seven months of the Trump presidency, highlights the turbulent intersection of immigration policy, judicial oversight, and personal liberties. Ábrego’s journey in the United States began around 2011 when he entered the country without authorization as a teenager, reportedly fleeing severe gang violence in his home country.
His plea for protection was initially recognized in 2019 when a federal court granted him relief from deportation to El Salvador. This ruling, however, was shockingly disregarded in March of the current year when, due to what the Trump administration later admitted in April as an “administrative error,” Ábrego was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
The wrongful deportation sparked a widespread outcry, drawing significant pressure from various quarters, including the Supreme Court. This sustained public and legal pressure eventually compelled the Trump administration to reverse its course, and Ábrego was returned to the United States in June. Yet, his return marked not an end to his ordeal but the beginning of a new chapter of legal battles.
Upon his arrival back on U.S. soil, Ábrego was immediately confronted with criminal charges related to human smuggling. His lawyers vehemently denied these allegations, dismissing them as utterly baseless.
Despite these grave charges, Ábrego was released from criminal custody in Tennessee on a Friday and is now awaiting his trial. However, the respite was short-lived. Over the weekend, the Trump administration announced an alarming new plan: to deport him, this time, to Uganda. The sudden shift in destination, far removed from his home country, raised significant concerns among his legal advocates.
The situation escalated dramatically on a Monday when Ábrego was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a routine immigration check in Baltimore. This check-in was a mandated condition of his prior release. His legal team quickly asserted that this detention was a punitive measure, designed to retaliate against him for asserting his constitutional rights and challenging his previous deportation.
An attorney representing Ábrego stated, “The only reason he was taken into detention was to punish him. To punish him for exercising his constitutional rights.”
In response to these rapid developments, Ábrego’s legal team swiftly filed a lawsuit on that same Monday, challenging both his current detention and the administration’s intent to deport him to Uganda. Their legal filings explicitly argued that the government’s actions constituted retaliation for their previous successful challenge against their deportation to El Salvador.
Published: Aug 27, 2025 01:19 pm