Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, an illegal alien from El Salvador facing human smuggling charges.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, has long been on the radar of U.S. law enforcement for his affiliations with the notorious MS-13 gang, also known as Mara Salvatrucha.
Breitbart News reports:
The government “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, in Maryland, wrote in her Tuesday order. “From this, the Court easily concludes that there is no ‘good reason to believe’ removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.”
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge ruled that he could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger there from a gang that had threatened his family. By mistake, he was deported there anyway last year.
Facing public pressure and a court order, President Donald Trump’s administration brought him back in June, but only after securing an indictment charging him with human smuggling in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, Trump officials have said he cannot stay in the U.S. In court filings, officials have said they intended to deport him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana, and Liberia.
MS-13 is infamous for its involvement in violent crimes, including murder, extortion, and human trafficking.
Garcia’s criminal history includes a 2018 conviction for gang participation in Prince George’s County Circuit Court in Maryland, where he was found guilty of actively supporting MS-13 activities.
In April, DHS released a detailed investigative report outlining a traffic stop that led authorities to believe Garcia was involved in transporting undocumented migrants across borders for profit.
Garcia was subsequently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In December, Judge Paula Xinis ordered Garcia’s immediate release from immigration detention, citing procedural concerns and what she described as insufficient evidence to justify prolonged holding without trial.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem publicly condemned the ruling, calling it a threat to national security and accusing the judge of prioritizing the rights of criminals over American safety.
Additionally, Garcia’s defense team successfully pushed for a gag order against top Trump administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary Noem. This was the third such complaint from his attorneys, who claimed public statements from government figures were prejudicing his right to a fair trial.
Just days after his release, Garcia wasted no time in leveraging social media.
In a TikTok video that went viral, he was seen outdoors in a residential area, wearing a baseball cap and a Nike hoodie, passionately singing a Spanish-language Christian hymn.
MS-13 terrorist Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released by a rogue judge and is now making TikToks.
pic.twitter.com/MlJwkRAmLH— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 27, 2025
The lyrics, which reference biblical miracles like parting the Red Sea and overcoming trials through faith, include lines such as “When you have to cross the Red Sea, call on this man with faith, only he opens the sea” and “You will pass to the other side, and there you will sing the hymn of victory.”
Garcia also spoke out publicly in Baltimore, Maryland, addressing a crowd and portraying himself as a victim of overzealous enforcement.
His actions have drawn sharp contrasts with the gag order binding DHS, leading to accusations that the justice system is upside down and empowering alleged criminals while handcuffing law enforcement.
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