Obama Judge Orders MS-13 Suspect Released From ICE Custody, DHS Calls It ‘Judicial Activism’

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be “immediately” released from a Pennsylvania immigration detention facility, triggering backlash from the Department of Homeland Security, which vowed to fight the ruling.

“This is naked judicial activism by an Obama-appointed judge,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.”

The order came from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who ruled that Abrego Garcia was being held “without lawful authority” after his return from El Salvador and granted his petition for release.

“Abrego Garcia’s case demands judicial intervention,” Xinis wrote, instructing the government to notify him and the court by 5 p.m. ET of the time and place of his release.

Xinis said Abrego Garcia had been detained “to effectuate third-country removal absent a lawful removal order,” and that his continued detention was improper.

Abrego Garcia, 30, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison after President Donald Trump and top officials labeled him a member of MS-13. Later that year, he was returned to the U.S. to face federal human smuggling charges in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty and denies being involved in gang activity.

After his release into his brother’s custody during the summer, federal authorities detained him again. The Trump administration has since attempted to deport him to Liberia and several other countries.

Abrego Garcia, who reportedly lived illegally in Maryland for over a decade, is accused of helping orchestrate a smuggling ring that brought illegal migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador across the southern border.

His criminal trial is scheduled to begin in January, though he has filed motions to dismiss the case. Prosecutors allege he conspired to transport and harbor illegal aliens inside the U.S.

Trump’s Department of Justice has defended the continued detention and effort to deport him, pointing to the national security threat posed by transnational gangs and human smuggling operations.

Despite the judge’s ruling, the administration has indicated it will pursue all available legal avenues to overturn the decision and secure a lawful removal order.