A federal judge barred ICE from re-detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the government had no realistic plan to deport him
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What happened
On February 17, 2026, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ruled that ICE cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia, finding no good reason to believe his removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future. She wrote that the government 'made one empty threat after another' to send him to African countries and ignored Costa Rica's offer to accept him. Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025 despite a 2019 immigration-court order barring removal there, was returned in June 2025 and charged with human smuggling in Tennessee (he pleaded not guilty), and was released from ICE detention by Xinis in December 2025, when she also found the government had misled the court about Costa Rica. DHS criticised the rulings.
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- CourtListener (docket, Abrego Garcia v. Noem, 8:25-cv-00951, D. Md.) — CourtListener (docket, Abrego Garcia v. Noem, 8:25-cv-00951, D. Md.)Document
Judge Xinis's February 18, 2026 opinion barring ICE from re-detaining Abrego Garcia
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