Maryland man deported to El Salvador must be returned to the United States, judge says

WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to arrange for the return of a Maryland man to the United States after he was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.

What we know:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement expelled Kilmar Abrego Garcia last month despite an immigration judge’s 2019 ruling that shielded him from deportation to his native El Salvador, where he faced likely persecution by local gangs.

Judge Paula Xinis' read her order Wednesday form the bench in Greenbelt, Maryland shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Friday. She recognized what she called "irreperable harm" that Abrego-Garcia continues to experience in a Salvadoran detention center. 

The judge's ruling came shortly after Abrego Garcia’s wife joined dozens of supporters at a rally to urge her husband’s immediate return.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen, hasn’t spoken to Abrego Garcia since he was flown to his native El Salvador last month and imprisoned. She urged her supporters to keep fighting for her husband "and all the Kilmars out there whose stories are still waiting to be heard."

"To all the wives, mothers, children who also face this cruel separation, I stand with you in this bond of pain," she said during the rally at a community center in Hyattsville, Maryland. "It’s a journey that no one ever should ever have to suffer, a nightmare that feels endless."

The backstory:

Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation, described by the White House as an "administrative error," has outraged many and raised concerns about expelling noncitizens who were granted permission to be in the U.S.

Garcia, a sheet-metal apprentice, was arrested on March 12 while driving home with his 5-year-old son. Three days later, the government deported him to El Salvador, admitting the action was a mistake. He has not been heard from in three weeks. 

Photos released by ICE show Garcia at a maximum-security terrorism confinement center. His wife, a U.S. citizen, identified him in the images. She says Garcia is the sole provider for their family, which includes three children requiring specialized care.

Garcia’s lawyers argue he had legal protection from deportation and was falsely identified as a gang member by a confidential informant in 2019. A judge later ruled Garcia had credible fears of being killed if forced to return to El Salvador. Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen, hasn’t spoken to Abrego Garcia since he was flown to his native El Salvador last month and imprisoned. She urged her supporters to keep fighting for her husband "and all the Kilmars out there whose stories are still waiting to be heard."

What's next:

Xinis ordered the government to return Abrego-Garcia to the United States by Monday at midnight. 

The White House has cast Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, as an MS-13 gang member and asserts that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction over the matter because the Salvadoran national is no longer in the U.S.

Xinis relied on public comments from the Secretary of State and other officials saying the U.S. has an agreement with El Salvador for them to detail these individuals. She reasoned that the U.S. appears to have some sort of control over the detainees in Salvadoran custody. 

The government's lawyer repeatedly told the court Wednesday that they have not provided any evidence of a contract or agreement on the record in this case, so they dispute the claim. 

The government may quickly appeal Xinis' decision to the Federal Appeals Court, given the tight timeline. 

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