Judge Orders ICE Not to Re-Detain Abrego Garcia

The illegal immigrant from El Salvador is also facing federal human smuggling charges.
Judge Orders ICE Not to Re-Detain Abrego Garcia
Kilmar Abrego Garcia (C) departs the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office the day after a federal judge ordered his released from detention, in Baltimore on Dec. 12, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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A federal judge has blocked U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) from re-arresting Kilmar Abrego Garcia, one of the men at the center of the Trump administration’s deportation battles.

The Salvadoran national’s case attracted attention across the country, including widespread protests, after the federal government detained him in March 2025 and shipped him to El Salvador’s maximum security prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center, along with an airplane full of other deportees.