Immigration Judge Rejects Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Asylum Bid

The illegal immigrant can appeal the decision within 30 days.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia in a protest rally outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, on Aug. 25, 2025. Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo

An immigration judge in Maryland on Oct. 1 rejected a motion filed by Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to reopen his 2019 petition for asylum in the United States.

Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was deported to his homeland in March by the Trump administration and was later returned to the United States under a Supreme Court order.

He had initially sought asylum in 2019 but was denied. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys petitioned the immigration court in August to reconsider his asylum case, citing concerns that he could be deported to Uganda.

In an Oct. 1 ruling, the immigration judge in Baltimore denied the request but gave Abrego Garcia 30 days to appeal the decision with the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hailed the ruling in a social media post, saying that it affirms Abrego Garcia’s removal from the country.

“With today’s ruling, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s final order of removal stands,” DHS stated. “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.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Abrego Garcia’s attorney for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Abrego Garcia, who illegally entered the United States in 2011 and stayed in Maryland, was accused of being a member of the foreign terrorist organization MS-13. He was deported to El Salvador alongside other deportees in March despite a 2019 immigration court order granting withholding of removal to his homeland due to safety concerns.

The Salvadoran national was returned to the United States in June under a Supreme Court order and held in custody on charges of immigrant smuggling, stemming from a 2022 traffic stop, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

The administration has indicated that Abrego Garcia could be deported to a third-party country, naming the African nation of Uganda as the possible destination.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys argued that Abrego Garcia risked persecution or torture if sent to Uganda. ICE then changed the destination country to Eswatini, another African nation with which Abrego Garcia has no ties, according to an email shared by DHS last month.

“That claim of fear is hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries,” ICE stated in its email.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled in August that Abrego Garcia must remain in the country until she holds a hearing on Oct. 6.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.