The detention window has officially closed
A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may not redetain Kilmar Ábrego García, a Salvadoran national whose case has become a flashpoint in the broader debate over immigration enforcement.
In a Feb. 17 decision, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis concluded that the 90-day detention period allowed under federal immigration law has expired. She found that the government does not have a workable plan to deport Ábrego García, leaving no legal basis to hold him again.
Under federal law, ICE may detain someone only for the purpose of carrying out a removal order. Without a realistic path to deportation, continued detention becomes unlawful.
Dispute over deportation options
In her ruling, Xinis criticized the government for repeatedly threatening to remove Ábrego García to third countries, including several African nations, without what she described as any realistic prospect of success.
The judge also noted that Costa Rica has offered to accept him and that Ábrego García agreed to go there. Critics of the administration argue that his prolonged stay in the United States stems from the Trump administration’s refusal to deport him to Costa Rica. Instead, they say, officials pursued removal to African destinations that rejected him, allegedly in response to his refusal to plead guilty to criminal charges.
A Department of Homeland Security official sharply criticized the ruling, saying it would allow Ábrego García to “live in the United States forever” if the government cannot deport him. The statement reflects the administration’s broader frustration with court-imposed limits on immigration detention.
Earlier deportation ruled an ‘administrative error’
Ábrego García was deported to El Salvador’s maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center in March 2025 despite a 2019 court order barring his removal there due to credible threats of gang violence. Following public pressure and legal action, the U.S. government returned him to the United States in June 2025.
Both the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts later determined that the March 2025 deportation was an “administrative error,” citing the standing court order protecting him from removal to El Salvador.
He now lives in Maryland with his U.S.-citizen wife and child and has repeatedly challenged his detention in federal court.
Clashing claims over gang ties
A central dispute in the case is whether Ábrego García has ties to MS-13.
The Trump administration and DHS have described him as a “validated member” and leader of the gang. Officials have pointed to a 2019 Prince George’s County, Maryland, police “Gang Field Interview Sheet,” which cited a confidential informant who identified him as a “Chequeo,” a mid-level rank in the MS-13 Western clique.
Authorities also referenced his possession of Chicago Bulls merchandise and a hoodie featuring imagery they claimed signaled gang affiliation, including the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” motif.
In April 2025, however, Xinis wrote that the government’s claims were made “without any evidence” beyond clothing and uncorroborated informant statements. She noted that Ábrego García has no criminal convictions for gang-related activity.
His attorneys maintain he has no criminal record of gang membership. He does, however, face separate federal charges for human smuggling stemming from a 2022 traffic stop.
The latest ruling does not resolve those charges. It does, however, mark another setback for the administration’s effort to detain and deport a man federal courts have repeatedly said cannot legally be removed under current conditions.
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