Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be returned to US? Here's what a federal judge said

Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month has to be brought back to the US no later than 11.59 pm on April 7, a federal judge ruled Friday. This came after the Trump administration, in a surprise move, acknowledged that they did a mistake deporting the Maryland father of three because of an administrative order. The government said they could not bring him because he is in Salvadoran custody.

“This case is certainly important to Abrego Garcia and his family,” judge Paula Xinis said. “In recognition of that. I feel like I can’t wait on giving my order.”

During the hearing, the judge flagged that Garcia was apprehended last month without legal basis and deported without justification. Garcia's alleged ties to the MS-13 gang which Trump officials maintained did not have sufficient evidence, the judge said.

“When someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, complaint, criminal proceeding that has a robust process,” she said. The Justice Department didn’t provide additional evidence beyond what’s already been submitted in the case. “The government made a choice here to produce no evidence,” DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni told the judge.

Who is Abrego Garcia?

Abrego Garcia, 29, was among the hundreds of alleged members of crime gangs MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua the government expelled from the US to El Salvador last month. He fled El Salvador as a teenager to escape gang violence. On March 12, he was pulled over by ICE agents near his home and three days later he was expelled and sent back to El Salvador even though he won a legal battle six years earlier barring his removal.

Abrego Garica’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and their 5-year-old son, who are both US citizens, sued the government demanding his return.