A sweeping ruling from a federal bench has upended the government’s handling of the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordering his prompt release from immigration custody. In her decision on Thursday, she sharply criticized the chain of events that kept him behind bars. As she wrote, “since Abrego Garcia’s wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority.”
According to the order, the government cannot deport him anywhere because no lawful removal order exists. Xinis underscored that this procedural void alone blocks officials from expelling him from the United States.
The case involves a Salvadoran man who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children before being forcibly removed in March and sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison. That deportation flew in the face of a 2019 court ruling forbidding his removal to El Salvador due to his documented fear of persecution. The administration at the time justified the move by alleging ties to MS-13, an accusation he firmly rejects.
Months later, authorities transported him back to the U.S. to stand trial in Tennessee on human smuggling charges — allegations to which he has pleaded not guilty. After his release into his brother’s custody in Maryland while awaiting trial, immigration officers arrested him again. Since then, he has been held in a Pennsylvania detention center.
Following Thursday’s ruling, the Department of Homeland Security lashed out publicly. Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin condemned the decision online, declaring, “This is naked judicial activism by an Obama appointed judge. This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.”
The ruling also comes after the government recently attempted to clear the way to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia. Officials petitioned Judge Xinis to lift a removal ban, arguing they had secured assurances from Liberian authorities that he would not face harm there.
Instead, Xinis directed federal officials to inform Abrego Garcia when and where he would be released, and to report back to the court by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The 31-page opinion traces each dramatic turn: his deportation to El Salvador, his return to the U.S. to face charges, and the subsequent immigration detention that followed. Xinis found that none of it aligned with the stated purpose of immigration custody. “The circumstances of Abrego Garcia’s detention since he was released from criminal custody cannot be squared with the ‘basic purpose’ of holding him to effectuate removal,” she wrote.
Her order also criticized the government’s handling of alternative removal options. Citing ABC News reporting, she noted that officials could have sent him to Costa Rica — the destination he preferred. “Respondents’ calculated effort to take Costa Rica ‘off the table’ backfired,” Xinis wrote. She pointed out that the Costa Rican government swiftly asserted that “its offer to grant Abrego Garcia residence and refugee status is, and always has been, firm, unwavering, and unconditional.”
The judge further recounted a series of notices sent to Abrego Garcia while he sat in ICE custody. “Respondents serially ‘notified’ Abrego Garcia — while he sat in ICE custody — of his expulsion to Uganda, then Eswatini, then Ghana; but none of these countries were ever viable options,” she wrote.
Upon release, Abrego Garcia is expected to receive updated instructions from the U.S. Pretrial Services Office regarding the conditions tied to his ongoing criminal case.
Back in August, Xinis had already frozen any attempt to remove him from the U.S. until the court resolved the habeas petition. Her latest ruling offered a pointed reflection on the saga: “The history of Abrego Garcia’s case is as well known as it is extraordinary,” she wrote.
The order now places the federal government under renewed scrutiny, while opening a new chapter in one of the most convoluted immigration cases to emerge in recent years.
{Matzav.com}
Tensions inside the administration’s immigration apparatus have grown so sharp that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the president’s border chief, Tom Homan, now communicate only when absolutely necessary. Yet, despite the frayed relationship, a report from Axios on Thursday emphasized that neither is on the verge of being pushed out.
In private, the president has waved off concerns about their mutual hostility. “Kristi’s doing a great job,” he reportedly told an adviser, who then described the conversation to Axios. “Her and Tom don’t get along, but they’re doing great.”
Those familiar with the dynamics say this is exactly how the president operates. “Trump is like that,” one source explained. “He kind of likes people competing against each other. He thinks it makes the product better.”
Not everyone inside the West Wing is as charitable. Another adviser — openly disdainful of Noem — acknowledged that the president is satisfied with his team even if others aren’t. “He’s happy with his cabinet. Do I wish Kristi was gone? Absolutely. But that ain’t happening. At least, not that he’ll tell me.”
The exact catalyst of the Noem–Homan split remains murky. What is clear, according to Axios, is that longtime immigration officials have grown irritated with Noem’s management style and her prominence in promotional campaigns such as the CBP Home self-deportation app. Many career staffers have also been unsettled by the outsized role of her closest adviser, Corey Lewandowski — classified as a special government employee and therefore limited to 130 working days inside the administration.
Backers of Noem have their own grievances, accusing Homan of positioning himself as the public face of the crackdown through frequent Fox News hits and his habit of briefing reporters just outside the West Wing.
The internal clash intensified this fall when Fox News revealed a strategic divide within DHS. According to the outlet, Noem, Lewandowski, and Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino were advocating large-scale sweeps of illegal aliens to increase deportation totals. By contrast, Homan and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons urged a more targeted mission aimed at offenders with criminal histories.
“ICE started off with the worst of the worst, knowing every target they are hitting, but since Border Patrol came to LA in June, we’ve lost our focus, going too hard, too fast, with limited prioritization,” a senior DHS official told Fox. “It’s getting numbers, but at what cost?”
Another official described the dueling strategies in stark terms: “ICE is arresting criminal aliens. They [Border Patrol] are hitting Home Depots and car washes.”
{Matzav.com}
Newly surfaced video evidence has revealed a haunting glimpse of the final days of several hostages held by Hamas, showing American Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg Polin and others attempting to mark Chanukah deep beneath the ground where they were imprisoned.
The recording captures the group fashioning a makeshift menorah in the dimness of the tunnel. Despite the unbearable conditions, they join together in singing Maoz Tzur, their voices strained with emotion.
In the background, one hostage can be heard remarking, “Chanukah is awesome, isn’t it?”—a line that, in the context of the setting, sounds drenched in painful irony.
Another voice comments, “It’s strange to see the menorah next to this flag,” seemingly pointing to a Palestinian flag visible beside them.
Among those shown in the clip are Hersh Goldberg Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex Lubanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino, all taken captive during the October 7 attacks.
Investigators believe the grim footage was recorded shortly before the captives were murdered.
IDF officials say the group was killed inside the very tunnels in which they appeared in the video. Their remains were later located and retrieved during military operations after intelligence pinpointed the site.
WATCH:
{Matzav.com}
