Baltimore (AP) — Kilmer Abrego Garcia has become the flashpoint of President Donald Trump’s aggressive efforts to remove non-citizens from the United States, but has been detained by Baltimore immigration authorities in the face of new efforts to expel him after a short period of freedom.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers immediately filed lawsuits fighting these removal efforts until the court heard the claims of protection, saying the US could place him in a country that “cannot guarantee his safety.”
New lawsuits have caused blankets Court order It automatically halts deportation efforts for two days. The order applies to immigrants in Maryland and challenges them to detention.
The crowd “screams shame!”
Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old construction worker from Maryland and a Salvadoran national, spoke at the rally before he attracted himself.
“This administration has hit us hard, but I want to tell you something. God is with us and God will never leave us,” Abrego Garcia said through a translator. “God brings justice to all the injustice we suffer.”
About 200 people gathered in front of the Baltimore Field office of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency to pray. Some had signs that included messages such as “Stop detaining your neighbor” and “Free Kilmer.”
As Abrego Garcia and his wife stood before them, the crowd said, “The United people will never be defeated.”
After Abrego Garcia entered the federal building, the crowd waited outside. The crowd cried out “Shame!” as his lawyer and wife left without him after detention.
Homeland Security’s Department of Crista Noem’s Bureau said in a post on X that Abrego Garcia is being processed for deportation. However, Simon Sandoval Moshenberg, Abrego Garcia’s chief immigration lawyer, said the lawyers will fight attempts to remove the government.
“I hope that the status meeting will take place very quickly and I will hold his fair right to fight for deportation to a particular country and ask for a provisional order that he will not be deported,” he said.
Reunion with family
Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to the infamous prison in his hometown of El Salvador in March. He was returned to the US in June, but only faced with smuggling charges of a human that his lawyer called an absurd vindictive.
The Trump administration said his married father was attempting to deport Abrego Garcia months before his trial was scheduled for Tennessee, claiming that it was dangerous for the community and members of the MS-13 gang. He denied the gang claim, admitted that he had not committed the charges of accusing him, and asked the judge to dismiss the case on the grounds of financial prosecution.
Abrego Garcia was released on Friday afternoon From a Tennessee prison I returned to my Maryland family. The video released by Advocates of the Reunion showed a room decorated with streamers, flowers and signs. He accepted his loved ones and thanked them “for everything.”
“Keeping Abrego Garcia accountability”
Immigration officers say they plan to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda. Uganda recently agreed to accept certain exiles from the United States.
The filing in federal court shows that the Costa Rican government has said Abrego Garcia is welcomed as a legal immigrant and will not face detention.
In a statement, Justice Department spokesman Chad Gilmartin said the criminal charges highlighted the way Abrego Garcia presents “a clear danger” and that he could plead guilty or go to trial.
“In any case, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the Americans,” Gilmartin said.
The US is wrong Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador In March, despite the judge’s previous resolve, he faced “established fear” of violence there. Faced with a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the United States in June, but detained him on suspicion of human smuggling.
he Plead not guilty He asked the judge to dismiss the case and called it an attempt to punish him. Challenge to exile in El Salvador. His lawyers argued that the threat of banishing him to Uganda was more evidence of the prosecution being vindictive.
Smuggling fees are attributed to a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee due to speeding. There were nine passengers in the car Officers discussed In their own right, allegedly their smuggling. Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with warnings alone.
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and children. I lived in Maryland For years. He was deemed eligible for pretrial release last month, but he I remained in prison At the request of his lawyer, he feared that the Republican administration would try to do so soon. I’ll deport him again If he is released.
a Recent Judgments Another Maryland case required ICE to provide 72 hours of notice before launching a deportation lawsuit. This is the time to allow future exiles to begin their defense. An email from ICE sent to an attorney at 4:01pm on Friday points to that decision.
“This email should inform Uganda that DHS can now delete its client, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, and start removing it in 72 hours (if there is no weekend).” Recently Uganda I agreed to take Decorty with me. From the US if they have no criminal history and are not unaccompanied minors.
Federal officials have argued that Abrego Garcia could be deported for illegally coming to the United States. And because the US immigration judge deemed him eligible for expulsion in 2019.
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An earlier version of this story mistakenly stated that Abrego Garcia was sent to Uganda, a country that has a language he does not speak. The official language of Uganda is English.