Last week, Immigration Judge Philip Taylor denied a motion to reopen the asylum case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Garcia, an illegal alien from El Salvador, has 30 days to appeal that ruling to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Background
In March, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was among more than 230 alleged gang members detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and subsequently deported to his homeland. March was not the first time ICE had attempted to remove him from the country. In 2019, Garcia was taken into custody by ICE after he was arrested for loitering by police in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Elizabeth Kessler, an immigration judge in Baltimore, subsequently denied his request for bond, citing “evidence [that] shows that he is a verified member of MS-13.” However, a month later, a court granted Garcia a withholding of removal order based on a finding that he could face harm from a rival gang if he were returned to El Salvador and was allowed to remain in the country.
Following his removal to El Salvador, despite the evidence of his affiliation with a gang that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Department of State, Garcia quickly became known as the “Maryland man” who was allegedly wrongfully swept up by ICE agents. News coverage described him as a good family man, married to a U.S. citizen, and a caring father of a disabled U.S.-born son. In June, Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, including charges that from roughly 2016-2025 he conspired to bring illegal aliens into the United States and had also smuggled MS-13 gang members and associates into the country.
In August, Garcia’s attorneys petitioned to reopen his immigration case to seek asylum, citing fears that he was at risk of “imminent removal to Uganda” after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicated that he may be deported there. Garcia was briefly released from custody and permitted to return to Maryland, where he was rearrested and is now being held in a detention center in Pennsylvania.
Ruling
Last week’s order was filed in a Baltimore immigration court and saw Regional Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Philip Taylor deny the emergency motion from Garcia’s attorneys to reopen his case. Garcia’s attorneys argued that he was eligible to reapply for asylum for one year after returning to the U.S. for trafficking charges, but Judge Taylor ruled their filing untimely given that it came nearly six years after Garcia’s initial immigration proceedings.
Judge Taylor also dismissed concerns that Garcia would be deported to a third country. Referencing the notice that DHS sent to Garcia’s attorneys in August indicating the agency may deport Garcia to Uganda, Judge Taylor noted, “DHS sought to convey that it reserved the right to remove him to Uganda, not necessarily that it intended to do so, that it had decided to do so, or that it would do so imminently.”
Conclusion
The decision sparked sharp and split reactions. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) who visited Garcia in El Salvador, expressed outrage following the ruling, calling the decision “[a] total corruption of our immigration justice system.” The Trump administration also issued a strong response, reinforcing its commitment to public safety. In a social media post, DHS stated: “With today’s ruling, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s final order of removal stands. This MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, domestic abuser, and child predator will never be loose on American streets. His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S. but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country. He will never be allowed to prey on innocent Americans again.”
FAIR will continue to provide updates as the case moves forward.
Support from readers like you is crucial in funding FAIR’s operations. Please consider making a difference with a tax-deductible contribution and join our efforts in educating the public on sensible immigration reform.
