A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to immediately make arrangements for the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said that Kilmar Abrego Garcia had been illegally deported to El Salvador and said he must be returned by Monday before midnight.
Xinis ruled that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s March 15th expulsion of Garcia violated the Administrative Procedures Act, since it occurred without a judicial proceeding.
The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that it plans to immediately appeal the judge’s order.
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This undated photo shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP)
The Trump administration has acknowledged Garcia’s removal was an “administrative error,” but has also defended it, alleging that Garcia has ties to MS-13.
“This individual is an illegal criminal who broke our nation’s immigration laws. He is a leader in the brutal MS-13 gang, and he is involved in human trafficking,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing on Tuesday.
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“And now MS-13 is a designated foreign terrorist organization. Foreign terrorists have no legal protections in the United States of America. And this administration is going to continue to deport foreign terrorists and illegal criminals from our nation’s interior,” she added.
In this undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP)
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News after the ruling: “The American people should know who this individual is. He’s not some American father as the mainstream media will make you believe, he’s actually a member of MS-13, and was involved in trafficking. It’s unbelievable the framing of this. Whether this man is in El Salvador or in a U.S. detention center, he should be locked up.”
An immigration judge five years ago said Garcia, who came to the U.S. illegally in 2011 and asked for asylum, could not be deported to his home country, over concerns he would become a victim of local El Salvador gang members.
His request for asylum was denied, but he was given protection from deportation and ICE didn’t appeal the decision.
Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who is a U.S. citizen, has vigorously campaigned for his return.
Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who is a U.S. citizen, has vigorously campaigned for his return. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Garcia had been working as a sheet metal apprentice in Maryland and was arrested in an IKEA parking lot on March 12 while his 5-year-old son was in the car.
His lawyers have argued the man had a Department of Homeland Security permit to work in the country, and strongly denied any gang affiliations. They also say that the government has given little evidence to back up its claim.
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There was no indication how the government would comply, since he is incarcerated in an El Salvador prison under that government’s custody.
Fox News’ Cameron Arcand and the Associated Press contributed to this report.