Judge Keeps Injunction, Blocks Deportation Of Kilmar Abrego Garcia To Liberia
Judge Paula Xinis kept injunctions blocking removal to Liberia while DHS seeks to dissolve the order and asked for a ruling by April 17, according to court filings.
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Overview
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a temporary order keeping in place injunctions that bar the Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia.
The administration filed court documents seeking to dissolve Xinis's injunction after ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said DHS was ready to remove Abrego Garcia to Liberia and asked for a ruling by April 17, according to the filings.
Lyons argued Abrego Garcia forfeited his right to designate Costa Rica during 2019 removal proceedings and said abandoning negotiated arrangements with Liberia could cast doubt on U.S. diplomatic reliability, according to a court declaration.
Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025, later ordered returned to the United States by the courts in 2025, and had been granted withholding of removal in 2019 over gang-violence concerns.
Xinis has taken the motion under advisement and previously issued a preliminary injunction blocking DHS from re-detaining Abrego Garcia and removing him to third countries including Uganda, Ghana, Eswatini and Liberia.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as an act of vindictive government overreach by using loaded terms (e.g., 'vindictive', 'laughable', 'ironic'), foregrounding legal rulings and officials' statements while minimizing administration justification. They emphasize inconsistent actions—quoting Bondi and Lyons and citing the travel advisory—to portray the removal plan as legally dubious and politically motivated.
FAQ
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran man living in Maryland with a work permit as a sheet metal apprentice and father of three. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him withholding of removal to El Salvador due to a clear probability of persecution from gang violence, as he provided substantial documentation and credible testimony.
On March 12, 2025, ICE detained Abrego Garcia after work and deported him to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, despite his withholding order, along with over 230 others, many without criminal records. Courts later ruled this illegal, calling it 'wholly lawless,' and ordered his return.[1]
Judge Paula Xinis kept injunctions blocking deportation to Liberia and other countries while DHS seeks to dissolve them, requesting a ruling by April 17. ICE argues he forfeited designating Costa Rica and that it affects U.S. diplomacy with Liberia.[0]
DHS Acting Director Todd Lyons stated Abrego Garcia forfeited his right to designate Costa Rica in 2019 proceedings and that dissolving arrangements with Liberia would undermine U.S. diplomatic reliability.[0]
Upon return to the U.S. in July 2025, he was charged with transporting and conspiring to transport undocumented people, accused of involvement in an alien smuggling ring; he has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys call the charges baseless.
