An immigration judge has upheld a deportation order for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the El Salvador native and alleged gang member who had illegally entered the United States years ago.
Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Philip Taylor issued an order Wednesday rejecting a motion from Abrego Garcia’s attorneys attempting to reopen his case.
While Abrego Garcia argued that he was eligible to apply for asylum because he was recently deported and brought back to the U.S. and has one year to apply upon reentry, Taylor ruled the motion “untimely” because it came around six years after his immigration proceedings began, reports ABC News.
The judge rejected claims that Abrego Garcia was going to be deported to a nation like Uganda instead of El Salvador, saying the evidence was “insufficient.”
Additionally, Taylor disagreed with the argument Abrego Garcia made that his life would be in danger if he were sent to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador, writing that his previous experiences at the facility did not indicate any abuse or torture.
“Respondent also does not indicate that the guards made any statements or otherwise indicated that they believed him or the other deportees to be gang members, so they do not appear to have imputed MS-13 gang membership to him,” wrote Taylor, as quoted by ABC News.
“Notably, while prison officials interrogated Respondent about his alleged gang membership and took pictures of his tattoos, they did not mistreat him during the interrogation.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security celebrated the order, posting on its official X account that Abrego Garcia “will never be allowed to prey on innocent Americans again.”
“This MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, domestic abuser, and child predator will never be loose on American streets,” DHS tweeted. “His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S. but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country.”
Abrego Garcia, who unlawfully entered the country during the Obama administration and resided in Maryland, was deported in March under the allegation that he was an MS-13 gang member.
In late March, Abrego Garcia sued multiple federal officials. His lawyers claimed that he was wrongfully deprived of due process and also argued that a judge had granted him federal protection from being deported in 2019.
Soon after, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an Obama appointee, issued an order that Abrego Garcia be returned. The judge reasoned that “the ‘evidence’ against Abrego Garcia consisted of nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a vague, uncorroborated allegation from a confidential informant claiming he belonged to MS-13’s ‘Western’ clique in New York — a place he has never lived.”
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled in April that Abrego Garcia had been wrongfully deported and was “entitled to due process.”
“If the government is confident of its position, it should be assured that position will prevail in proceedings to terminate the withholding of removal order,” wrote Judge Harvie Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee, for the panel.
“If today the Executive claims the right to deport without due process and in disregard of court orders, what assurance will there be tomorrow that it will not deport American citizens and then disclaim responsibility to bring them home?”
Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. in June and, in August, was released from a jail in Tennessee, where he faced allegations that he was involved in the trafficking of hundreds of undocumented immigrants, including MS-13 gang members.
According to the charges, Abrego Garcia allegedly took part in around 100 trips to bring in individuals from Mexico and Central America, including some minors, for monetary gain. Among those allegedly transported were members of MS-13, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News. He pleaded not guilty.
In 2021, Abrego Garcia’s wife filed for a court protection order from him. Four years later, she told media that she filed for the order out of precaution after she and her husband got into an argument, saying she suffered domestic violence in an earlier relationship. She didn’t follow through with the civil court process.Â
