Obama-Appointed Judge Orders MS-13 Suspect Freed from ICE Custody

In yet another stunning case of judicial overreach, an Obama-appointed federal judge has ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia an illegal alien accused of human smuggling and previously deported to El Salvador’s mega-prison for alleged ties to the MS-13 gang.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis claimed that Abrego Garcia had been re-detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement “without lawful authority,” and demanded he be released from a Pennsylvania detention facility despite active federal prosecution and a pending trial on human smuggling charges.

“Abrego Garcia’s case demands judicial intervention,” Xinis wrote in her order, calling his re-detention improper.

The ruling was met with fierce backlash from the Trump administration. “This is naked judicial activism by an Obama appointed judge,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.”

Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

• A 30-year-old Salvadoran national, he reportedly lived illegally in Maryland for over a decade.

• In March, he was deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison after being linked to MS-13, one of the most violent criminal gangs in the Western Hemisphere.

• He was later returned to the U.S. to face human smuggling charges, where he pleaded not guilty.

• Abrego Garcia is accused of conspiring to transport illegal aliens from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, and other nations into the United States.

• Despite denying gang affiliation, he remains under federal indictment, with his trial scheduled for January in Tennessee.

After initially being released into his brother’s custody this summer, Abrego Garcia was re-detained by ICE, but Judge Xinis has now deemed that detention unlawful despite clear threats to public safety and ongoing federal charges.

The Trump administration has sought to deport him to multiple countries, including Liberia, but the process has been bogged down by legal maneuvers and bureaucratic delays now made worse by a sympathetic judiciary more concerned with politics than protection.

Let’s be clear:

• This is not just about one case. It’s about a pattern of activist judges undermining immigration law and hamstringing federal enforcement.

• The same system that allows violent criminals to exploit loopholes is now letting them go free even while awaiting trial on federal charges.

• The American people are the ones who pay the price for a system that prioritizes illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens.

President Trump has made it clear that his administration will not sit back. DHS is preparing to appeal the judge’s order, while continuing efforts to deport individuals like Abrego Garcia who have flouted U.S. law, endangered national security, and abused the asylum system.

And it’s no surprise who’s standing in the way: unelected judges appointed by the same radical left that has turned sanctuary cities into safe havens for criminal illegals.

This is what happens when judicial activism overrides national security and if America doesn’t course-correct in 2025, we can expect many more dangerous rulings like this one.

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