ICE Attempt to 'Re‑Detain' Kilmar Abrego Garcia Using Backdated Deportation Order Blocked by Judge

Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia will not be pursued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled on February 17. The court granted Garcia’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus and ordered his immediate release from the custody of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE on December 11, 2025.

The court said the father of three was being held “without lawful authority” and because “no order of removal exists,” according to Law and Crime.

“Respondents have done nothing to show that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is consistent with due process,” Xinis wrote in her latest order.

Abrego Garcia was illegally deported on March 15, 2025, by the U.S. government under the Trump administration, which later described the removal as an “administrative error.”

At the time of his deportation, Abrego Garcia had never been charged with or convicted of a crime in either the United States or El Salvador. Despite this, he was imprisoned without trial at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). The case drew scrutiny of administration’s immigration crackdown and the consequences of deportation errors.

The Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. to face criminal charges stemming from a traffic stop in Tennessee. The charges were filed while Garcia remained imprisoned in El Salvador and after the court ruled his deportation unlawful and directed the administration to facilitate his return.

Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges, and that case continues, according to News From The States.

After returning back to the US, authorities attempted to deport him to a third world country as he has deportation protections in his home country. The administration declined Costa Rica, which had offered to accept him as a refugee.

“Respondents have refused to procure Abrego Garcia’s immediate removal to Costa Rica in favor of phantom removals to three (maybe four) African countries. Indeed, since Abrego Garcia secured his release from criminal custody in August 2025. Respondents have made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,” Xinis wrote.

The court concluded the administration failed to show that Abrego Garcia's continued detention in ICE custody was consistent with due process.

The administration is barred from taking Abrego Garcia into ICE custody. “Respondents shall immediately transmit this Order to all relevant officers, agents, and employees under their control and who are involved in this matter and in the Tennessee Criminal Matter,” Xinis wrote.