Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from an immigration detention center in Pennsylvania following an order from a federal judge issued Thursday, according to his attorney's office.
Abrego Garcia’s attorney confirmed he was released just before 5 p.m. ET Thursday and told The Associated Press he plans to return to Maryland, where he has an American wife and child and where he has lived for years after originally immigrating to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.
Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said he’s not sure what comes next, but he’s prepared to defend his client against further deportation efforts.
The ruling in Maryland came after Abrego Garcia and his attorneys filed a habeas petition claiming the federal government had no legal avenue to continue to detain him because no final order of deportation had been issued. The ruling hands a major victory to the immigrant whose wrongful deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge’s decision and vowed to appeal, calling the ruling “naked judicial activism.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.